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LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING 


Eon 

Beginners 

BY 

J.  C.  L.  FISH.  Assoc.  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E 

Associate  Professor  of  Civil  Engineering  in  the 
Leland  Stanford  Junior  University 

THIRD  EDITION  — SECOND  THOUSAND 


NEW  YORK : 

The  Engineering  News  Publishing  Co. 

1905 


Copyright,  1901,  by  John  Charles  Lounsbury  Fish 


STANFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


f •ss:-?3 


PREFACE. 


A faithful  following  of  the  directions  given  in  this  book  will,  it  is  hoped,  furnish  the 
student  enough  training  in  the  use  of  drafting  implements  to  enable  him  to  construct  accurate 
pencil  drawings,  make  clean-cut  ink  lines,  and  do  legible  lettering. 

The  work  embraced  in  Chapters  II  and  III  constitutes  the  course  of  fifty  working  hours 
in  Linear  Drawing  and  Lettering  in  Stanford  University,  as  it  has  been  given  during  the  past 
eight  years  as  preparation  for  the  drafting  in  the  courses  in  Descriptive  Geometry,  Elementary 
Machine  Drawing,  Surveying,  and  Graphic  Statics. 

I am  indebted  to  Mr.  C.  B.  Wing,  Professor  of  Structural  Engineering,  and  to  Mr.  G.  H. 
Marx,  Associate  Professor  of  Mechanical  Engineering,  for  many  suggestions  for  this  book. 

J.  C.  L.  FISH. 

Palo  Alto,  California, 

June  3,  1901. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I.— INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


§ 1.  Equipment. 

Instruments  and  materials  required,  1. 


§ 2.  Instruments  and  Materials. 


Drawing-board,  2-4. 
T square,  5-7. 
Triangle,  8-10. 


Irregular  or  French  curve,  11-13. 
Drawing-paper  and  tracing- 
cloth,"  14-16. 


Pencil,  17-19. 
Ruling-pen,  20-22. 

Ink, 23-24. 

Rubber  pencil-eraser,  25. 
Stale  bread,  26. 

Rubber  ink-eraser,  27. 
Steel  ink-eraser,  28. 
Pumice-powder,  29. 


Scale,  30-32. 

Divider,  33-35. 

Compass,  36-38. 
Compass  lead,  39. 
Compass  pen,  40. 

Bow  instruments,  41-43. 
Lettering-pen,  44-46. 
Blotter,  47. 


CHAPTER  II.— A COURSE  IN  LINEAR  DRAWING. 

§3.  To  Lay  Out  and  To  Finish  a Plate.  §6.  Plate  3a  : Circles. 


To  fix  the  paper,  48. 

Cutting  line,  49. 

Border  line,  50. 

To  finish  a plate,  51. 

Pencil  circles,  58.  Pen  circles,  59. 

§ 7.  Plate  4:  Accurate  Construction. 

§ 4.  Plate  1 : 

Medium  Lines. 

To  construct  the  square,  60. 

To  divide  a line  into 

Full  lines,  52. 

Dot-lines,  54. 

To  bisect  an  angle,  61. 

parts,  62. 

Dash-lines,  53. 

Dash-dot-lines,  55. 

To  inscribe  a circle,  61. 

To  ink  Plate  4,  63. 

§ 5.  Plates 

2 and  3. 

§ 8.  Plate  5 : 

Irregular  Curve. 

Plate  2 : Heavy  lines,  56. 

Plate  3:  Fine  lines,  57. 

To  use  the  French  curve,  64. 

To  construct  Plate  5,  65. 

equal 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III.— A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 

in  Lettering.  § 11.  A'ertical  and  Inclined  Lettering.  Details  of 

. „ . » __  , . Letters. 


§ t).  Required  Work 

Materials  for  lettering,  66.  Places  o auu  / ; orunary  ibl- 

Preliminary  practice,  67.  tering,  68. 

Plates  8-17  : Titles,  69.. 

Final  work  on  plates,  70. 


§ 10.  Vertical  and  Inclined  Lettering.  Introductory 
Remarks. 


Directions  of  letter-stems  and 
axes,  71.  ■ 

Horizontal  guides,  I-guides,  72. 
Individual  pen-strokes,  73. 

0 as  a model  for  curve  forms,  74. 


Difference  between  Vertical 
and  Inclined  lettering,  75. 
Letter  widths,  76. 

Letter-  and  word-spacing,  77. 


Details  of  lower-case  o,  78. 
Details  of  a b d g p q,  79. 
Details  of  c e s,  80. 

Details  of  h m n r u,  81. 
Details  of  f i j 1 1,  82. 
Details  of  k v w x y z,  83. 
Details  of  capitals  O Q,  84. 


Arrangement  and  proportions 
of  the  parts  of  a title,  90. 


Details  of  C D G J S U,  85. 
Details  of  B P R,  86. 

Details  of  E F H I L T,  87. 
Details  ofAKMNVWXY 
Z,  88. 

Details  of  numerals  and  frac- 
tions, 89. 


Common  faults  in  titles  made 
by  beginners,  91. 

To  construct  a title,  92. 


§12.  Titles. 


CHAPTER  IV.—  INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


§ 13. 

The  Paper  and  the  Scale. 

§ 14.  Linear  Drawing  Applied  to  Drafting. 

Drafting,  93. 

Choice  of  paper,  94. 
To  draw  to  scale,  95. 

To  cut  the  paper,  96. 

To  stretch  the  paper,  97. 

To  pencil  a drawing,  98. 

To  ink  a drawing,  99. 

To  make  a tracing,  100. 

Margins,  border  line,  101. 
Conventions,  102. 

§ 15.  Lettering  Applied  to  Drafting. 

Choice  of  styles,  103. 

Size  and  position  of  letters  and 
figures,  104. 

To  make  the  letters  and  fig- 
ures, 105. 

The  title  of  a drawing,  106. 
Lettering  on  tracing-cloth,  107. 

LIXEAR  DRAWING  A XI)  RETTERIXG. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Instruments  and  Materials. 
§ 1.  Equipment. 


1.  Instruments  and  Materials  Requn 

ing  and  Lettering  : 

1 HHHHHH  pencil. 

1 HHHH  pencil. 

1 emery  pad  for  sharpening  pencils. 

1 pencil-eraser,  rubber. 

1 ink-eraser,  rubber. 

1 doz.  thumb-tacks  or  drawing-pins. 

1 drawing-board,  not  less  than  17"x24". 

1 T square  of  same  length  as  the  board. 

1 bottle  water-proof  drawing-ink,  black. 

1 sheet  Whatman’s  N.  paper,  Double  Elephant  si: 


for  the  work  in  this  course  in  Linear  Draw- 

1 45°  triangle,  10",  wrood,  rubber,  or  celluloid. 
1 60°  triangle,  10",  wood,  rubber,  or  celluloid. 
1 triangular  boxwood  scale,  Architect’s. 

1 piece  chamois  for  cleaning  pen. 

1 irregular,  or  French,  curve,  K.  & E.  19,  T. 

A.  & Sons  16,  or  similar,  celluloid. 

1 penholder,  swell  body. 

6 Gillott’s  pens  303. 

6 Gillott’s  pens  404. 

6 Leonardos  506  F,  ball-pointed  pens. 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


1 case  of  instruments  (every  instrument  numbered  below  bears  the  maker’s  trade-mark  as  stated 
in  the  foot-note),  as  follows  : 

1 5Y  ruling-pen,  T.  A*  1615,  Kernf  405,  K.  & E.%  523^. 

1 3f  bow  divider,  T.  A.  1580,  Kern  462,  K.  & E.  485. 

1 compass,  T.  A.  1434,  Kern  651,  K.  & E.  610H. 

1 metal  case  of  HHHHHH  leads. 

1 screw-driver  and  key-wrench  (for  adjusting  instruments). 

The  instruments  named  above  and  the  pocket-case  named  below  are  necessary  for 
the  course  in  Linear  Drawing.  The  instruments  named  below  are  desirable  for  the 
Linear  Drawing  course  and  necessary  for  the  work  in  advanced  engineering  courses. 
1 5"  hair-spring  divider,  T.  A.  1423,  Kern  642,  K.  & E.  608. 

1 3^"  bow  pen,  T.  A.  1585,  Kern  463,  K.  & E.  486. 

1 3|"  bow  pencil,  T.  A.  1582,  Kern  464,  K.  & E.  487. 

1 leather  folding  pocket-case,  made  to  hold  the  following  instruments  : 

2 5|"  ruling-pens,  1 5-g"  hair-spring  compass  (fixed  needle-leg, 

1 3|"  bow  divider,  1 3|"  bow  pen,  1 3|"  pen,  pencil,  lengthening  bar), 

bow  pencil,  1 screw-driver  and  key-wrench, 

1 5"  hair-spring  divider,  1 metal  case  of  HHHHHH  leads. 


* T.  A.  stands  for  T.  Alteneder  & Sons,  945  Ridge  avenue,  Philadelphia.  Every  instrument  stamped 
“T.  A.,”  or  “T.  A.  & Sons,”  or  “T.  Alteneder  & Sons.” 

f Kern  stands  for  Kern  & Co.,  Aarau,  Swiss.  Every  first-class  instrument  stamped  “ Kern  & Co.” 

1 K.  & E.  stands  for  Keuffel  & Esser  Co.,  127  Fulton  street,  New  York.  Every  first-class  instrument 
stamped  “ K.  & E.  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Paragon,”  or  “Keuffel  & Esser  Co.” 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


3 


It  is  well  to  purchase  at  the  start,  if  possible,  all  the  instruments  named  above  as 
necessary  or  desirable,  together  with  the  case,  which  is  made  to  hold  all  these  and  an  ad- 
ditional pen.  If  the  student  cannot  afford  to  do  this,  he  buys  the  necessary  instruments 
for  the  Linear  Drawing  course,  and  the  case,  and  fills  the  vacant  spaces  in  his  case  as  ad- 
ditional instruments  become  necessary  from  time  to  time  in  his  engineering  courses.  Two 
spaces  in  the  case  are  made  for  pens,  for  a second  pen  will  be  needed  before  the  first  one 
is  discarded. 

For  prices,  see  the  catalogues  of  the  firms  named  above. 


§ 2.  Care  and  Use  of  Instruments  and  Materials * 

2.  Drawing-Board. — Drawing-boards  are  made  in  different  sizes,  corresponding  to 
regular  sizes  of  drawing-papers.  The  simplest  board  is  made  of  soft  wood  in  one  piece.  This  is 
improved  by  lining  each  sawed  end  with  a narrow  strip  of  hard  wood  to  prevent  the  warping  of 
the  board,  and  to  give  a smoother  surface  for  the  head  of  the  T square  to  slide  on.  The  best 
boards  are  made  up  of  narrow  strips  of  soft  wood  held  together  by  cleats  so  attached  to  the  back 
of  the  board  that  shrinkage  can  be  taken  up  at  any  time  ; and  each  end  is  lined  with  a hard- 
wood strip.  It  is  necessary  that  the  left  end  of  the  board  be  a straight-edge,  and  desirable  that 
the  near  edge  of  the  board  be  straight,  and  perpendicular  to  the  left  edge. 


* For  a fuller  knowledge  of  the  varieties  of  instruments  and  materials,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  cata- 
logue of  a mathematical  instrument  maker. 


4 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


3.  Care  of  Drawing-Board. — The  edges  of  the  board  should  be  kept  free  from  inden- 
tation, and  the  upper  surface  smooth  except  for  the  holes  made  by  thumb-tacks.  The  board, 
when  not  in  use,  should  lie  on  a flat  surface  or  stand  nearly  vertical  on  one  end  to  prevent 
warping. 

4.  Use  of  Drawing-Board. — A rectangular  piece  of  drawing-paper,  cut  to  required 
size,  is  placed  on  the  board  so  that  the  edges  of  the  paper  are  parallel  to  those  of  the  board  (as 
determined  by  the  T square  if  the  paper  is  small  compared  with  the  board),  and  each  corner 
of  the  sheet  is  tacked  down  with  a thumb-tack.  It  may  he  necessary  to  use  additional  thumb- 
tacks on  the  paper  edges  to  make  it  lie  smooth. 

5.  T Square. — See  Fig.  1.  The  simple  T square  has  its  blade  rigidly  fastened  to  its 
head.  Others  have  an  adjustable  connection  which  permits  setting  the  blade  at  any  angle  with 
the  head.  The  cheaper  T squares  are  made  of  wood,  the  head  of  one  piece  and  the  blade  of  an- 
other. The  better  grades  have  the  inner  edge  of  the  head  (which  slides  in  contact  with  the 
board)  and  both  edges  of  the  blade,  lined  with  narrow  strips  of  hard  wood  or  celluloid.  The 
best  are  made  of  metal  throughout. 

6.  Care  of  T Square. — The  T square  ought  to  lie  flat  on  the  drawing-board  or  be 

hung,  head  down,  against  the  wall,  when  not  in  use.  Keep  the  edges  of  the  blade  free  from 

nicks.  Do  not  use  the  T square  as  a hammer,  nor  the  T blade  as  a guide  for  a knife. 

The  blade  of  the  T square  is  said  to  be  less  apt  to  soil  the  paper  if  it  is  covered  on  its 

lower  side,  to  within  a quarter-inch  of  each  edge,  with  thin  blotting-paper. 

7.  Use  of  T Square. — The  upper  or  far  edge  of  the  T blade  may  be  used  as  a guide 
for  pen  or  pencil  when  drawing  a straight  line  in  any  direction,  but  serves  especially  as  a guide 
when  drawing  horizontal  lines,  i.  e.,  lines  perpendicular  to  the  left  edge  of  the  drawing-board, 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


5 


and  as  a guide  for  one  edge  of  the  triangle  while  another  edge  is  serving  as  a guide  for  the 
pen  or  pencil.  Press  the  T head  firmly  against  the  left  edge  of  the  board  before  beginning  to 
draw,  and  be  sure  that  it  remains  there  while  drawing  each  horizontal  or  vertical  line. 

The  inner  edge  of  the  T head  and  left  edge  of  drawing-board  being  straight,  all  positions 
of  the  T blade  are  parallel  when  the  T head  is  pressed  firmly  against,  and  moved  along,  the  left 
edge  of  the  board. 

The  T blade  cannot  be  depended  on  to  lie  flat  on  the  drawing  throughout  its  length  nor 
to  keep  its  place  without  pressure  from  the  hand.  While  drawing  a line  from  the  head  to  mid- 
point of  blade,  bear  the  left  hand  on  the  quarter-point  nearest  the  head  ; and  when  drawing  a 
line  along  the  outer  half  of  the  blade,  press  the  blade  down,  with  the  left  hand,  at  the  quarter- 
point  nearest  the  end  of  the  blade. 

8.  Triangle.  — Triangles  are  of  many  forms.  Fig.  21  shows  one  form  of  triangle  whose 
angles  are  90°,  60°,  and  30°  (called  a 30-60  triangle),  and  another  whose  angles  are  90°,  45°, 
and  45°  (called  a 45°  triangle).  These  are  the  forms  most  commonly  used.  Triangles  are  made 
in  many  sizes,  and  for  those  which  have  one  90°  angle  the  size  is  given  as  the  length  of  the 
longer  perpendicular  edge.  Written  in  the  order  of  cost,  triangles  are  made  of  the  follow- 
ing materials : wood,  wood  with  lined  edges,  hard  rubber,  celluloid,  German  silver,  aluminum, 
and  steel. 

9.  Care  of  Triangle. — The  triangles  should  be  kept  well  cleaned  to  prevent  their  soiling 
the  drawing-paper.  To  save  the  paper,  the  triangles  should  be  moved  over  it  as  lightly  as  pos- 
sible. If  thin  blotting-paper  be  pasted  on  the  triangle  to  within  a quarter-inch  of  the  inner 
and  outer  edges  it  will  be  less  apt  to  slip  and  soil  the  paper.  This  may  not  be  desirable 
for  the  celluloid  triangles,  as  it  may  detract  from  their  value  due  to  transparency.  Triangles 


6 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


should,  when  idle  for  any  length  of  time,  lie  on  a flat  surface  to  prevent  warping.  Do  not  use 
a triangle  as  a guide  for  a knife  when  cutting  paper  or  trimming  plates. 

10.  Use  of  Triangle. — Any  edge  of  a triangle  will  serve  as  a guide  (a  straight-edge) 
to  pen  or  pencil  when  drawing  a straight  line.  The  special  use  of  a triangle  is  in  drawing  sets  of 
parallel  lines  (Fig.  21).  The  altitude  serves  as  a guide  for  vertical  lines  when  the  base  is  in 
contact  with  the  upper  edge  of  the  T blade  and  the  T head  is  pressed  firmly  against  the  left 
edge  of  the  board.  Sets  of  lines,  making  45°,  30°,  and  60°  angles  with  the  horizontal,  can  be 
drawn  by  using  the  triangles  in  connection  with  the  T square,  the  head  of  which  is  pressed 
firmly  against  the  left  edge  of  the  board. 

11.  Irregular,  or  French,  Curve. — French  curves  are  made  of  wood,  hard  rubber,  and 
of  celluloid.  One  form  is  shown  in  Fig.  19,  which  is  one- third  of  the  actual  size. 

12.  Care  of  French  Curve. — While  idle,  the  curve  should  lie  on  a flat  surface.  Keep 
the  edges  of  the  curve  free  from  indentations.  Clean  the  curve  often  enough  to  prevent  accum- 
ulations of  oil  and  dirt,  which  rub  off  on  the  paper.  Pasting  strips  of  thin  blotting-paper  on 
the  under  side  of  the  hard  rubber  will  prevent  its  soiling  the  paper;  but  this  device  lessens  the 
value  of  the  celluloid  as  a transparent  curve. 

13.  Use  of  French  Curve. — This  is  explained  in  64. 

14.  Drawing-Paper. — Drawing-papers  are  divided  into  three  classes:  I.  “Drawing- 
paper,”  II.  Detail-paper,  and  III.  Tracing-paper  and  tracing-cloth. 

I.  The  term  drawing-paper  is  usually  reserved  for  the  better  grades  of  paper  which  are  in- 
tended for  drawings  that  are  to  be  finished  directly  in  pencil  or  ink.  It  is  sold  in  sheets  of 
different  sizes,  and  in  continuous  sheets,  or  rolls,  of  different  widths.  It  may  be  mounted  ( i . e., 
backed  by  muslin)  or  unmounted.  It  is  made  in  great  variety  of  weight,  surface,  and  quality,  to 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


7 


suit  all  kinds  of  work.  The  surface  may  be  “ H.  P.”  (hot-pressed,  which  is  smooth),  “N.”  (not 
hot-pressed,  which  has  a fine-grained  surface),  “ R.”  (which  is  rough-grained),  or  “ egg-shell  ” 
(which  has  a surface  resembling  a rough-surfaced  egg-shell). 

II.  Detail-paper  is  the  name  given  to  the  cheaper  papers,  suitable  for  rough  and  medium- 
fine  pencil  drawings  which  are  to  be  finished  by  tracing,  if  at  all.  This,  like  the  above,  can  be 
obtained  in  sheets  and  rolls,  and  of  many  weights  and  surfaces. 

III.  Tracing-paper  is  transparent,  and  sometimes  used  for  tracing,  in  pencil  or  in  ink,  a 
design  first  drawn  on  a piece  of  detail-paper.  Tracing-cloth  is  a transparent  cloth  (called  also  vel- 
lum), and  is  the  material  generally  used  for  tracings,  because  of  its  toughness.  It  may  be  ob- 
tained in  sheets  of  different  sizes  and  in  rolls  of  different  widths.  There  are  several  grades. 

15.  Care  of  Drawing-Paper.— Sheets  should  lie  flat  when  put  away,  or  be  rolled 
loosely.  The  rolls  should  be  kept  free  from  pressure,  which  breaks  the  surface.  The  paper 
should  at  all  times  be  kept  from  dust  and  moisture.  Spread  and  tacked  on  the  drawing-board, 
the  paper  should  be  protected  from  dust,  and  the  instruments  and  hands  should  come  in  contact 
with  the  paper  as  little  and  as  lightly  as  possible.  There  is  always  more  or  less  perspiration  on 
the  hands,  and  the  T square  and  triangles  are  seldom  so  clean  that  the  paper  may  not  be  soiled 
by  their  rubbing. 

When  making  several  drawings  on  one  sheet,  it  is  well  to  cover  it  with  a protecting 
paper  from  which  a piece  is  cut  to  expose  that  drawing  which  is  being  made  at  the  time.  If 
intervals  of  hours  or  days  are  to  elapse  between  periods  of  work,  the  paper  should  be  protected, 
as  above,  or  removed  from  the  board  and  put  away. 

The  hard  erasing  which  is  required  to  remove  the  dirt  from  a soiled  drawing  injures  the 
surface  of  the  paper  and  the  ink-lines  which  have  been  drawn.  A neat  drawing  is  produced  by 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


keeping  the  paper  so  clean  that  there  is  no  need  of  rubbing  and  scrubbing  at  the  end.  If  conven- 
ient, the  hands  should  be  washed  frequently  during  a drawing  period,  especially  in  warm  weather. 

16.  Use  of  Drawing-Paper. — The  upper  side  of  the  paper  is  generally  that  which 

shows  the  water-mark  or  trade-mark  right  side  up.  The  rough  side  of  egg-shell  paper  is  for 
drawing.  Many  of  the  smoother  and  thinner  papers  are  about  the  same  on  both  sides.  Tracing- 
cloth  may  be  used  either  side  up.  Some  draftsmen  condemn  the  use  of  the  rough  side  because 
ink-lines  made  on  this  side  are  ragged,  and  erasures  cannot  well  be  made.  Others  use  the  rough 
side,  because  drawings  so  made  lie  flat  instead  of  rolling  up,  and  pencil  work  can  be  done  on 

this  side.  If  the  smooth  side  is  to  be  used  for  ink-lines,  it  should  first  be  dulled  by  rubbing 

with  pumice  powder.  The  powder  must  be  thoroughly  removed  before  inking  the  lines,  for  it 
clogs  the  pen. 

When  about  to  touch  ruling-  or  common  pen  to  paper  at'  any  place,  press  the  paper  flat 
against  the  board  and  keep  it  there  till  the  line  is  done  and  the  pen  has  been  lifted  from  the 

paper.  Otherwise  there  will  usually  be  made  a blot  or  a tail  at  each  end  of  the  line. 

17.  Pencil.— Faber’s  HHHHHH  or  Koh-i-noor  HHHHHH  pencil  should  be  used  for  all 
drawing  in  this  course,  except  that  for  coarse  work  and  lettering  the  HHHH  grade  should  be 
used.  No  accurate  drawing  can  be  done  without  smooth  lead  of  proper  hardness. 

18.  Care  of  Pencil. — For  the  cone-point  (see  Fig.  14)  cut  away  the  wood  at  the  end 
opposite  the  printing,  to  expose  at  least  one-half  inch  of  lead.  Rub  the  exposed  lead  flatwise  over 
fine-grained  emery-paper  while  twirling  the  pencil  between  the  thumb  and  fingers,  till  the  sharp- 
tipped  cone-point  is  formed.  Next,  rub  the  lead  in  a similar  manner  on  rough-surfaced  paper 
until  the  tip  of  the  cone-point,  when  viewed  endwise,  is  invisible.  This  point  is  easily 
broken,  and  it  must  rest  on  the  paper  with  very  little  pressure  while  drawing  a line.  The  cone- 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


9 


point  is  used  where  the  greatest  accuracy  is  required,  as  in  Graphics,  but  is  not  as  serviceable  as 
the  chisel-point  for  drawing  lines  which  must  be  distinct  enough  to  show  through  tracing-cloth. 
The  dull  cone-point  is  used  for  printing  figures  and  descriptions  on  a drawing,  and  for  free-hand 
curves. 

For  the  chisel-point  (Fig.  13),  expose  a half-inch  of  lead.  Rub  two  opposite  sides  of  the 
lead  flatwise  on  the  emery-paper,  till  a sharp  chisel  is  formed.  Next,  repeat  the  rubbing  on 
drawing-paper  until  the  edge  of  the  chisel  is  invisible.  The  chisel-point,  when  applied  with  pres- 
sure, rules  a line  which  is  fine  enough  for  working-drawings,  and  yet  distinct  enough  to  show 
clearly  through  tracing-cloth.  The  cone-point,  of  equal  sharpness  and  applied  with  the  same 
pressure,  either  breaks,  or  wears  away  too  rapidly.  The  cone-point  admits  of  greater  precision, 
and,  for  drawings  which  are  to  be  redrawn  directly  in  ink,  rules  sufficiently  distinct  lines. 

After  drawing  each  long  line,  or  a few  short  ones,  examine  the  pencil-point,  and  if  it 
reflects  light  when  viewed  endwise,  resharpen  by  rubbing  on  a piece  of  drawing-paper.  The  emery- 
paper  need  be  used  only  when  resharpening  on  paper  takes  too  much  time.  It  is  well  to  have 
in  use  two  pencils,  one  with  cone-  and  the  other  with  chisel-point.  Neither  chew  the  pencil  nor 
wet  the  lead  in  the  mouth. 

19.  Use  of  Pencil. — A hair-line  is  drawn  with  the  sharp  cone-point,  with  slight  pres- 
sure. It  is  distinctly  visible  by  diffused  light,  but  may  be  invisible  when  the  paper  reflects  light 
to  the  eye  from  a window.  It  is  easily  erased,  leaving  no  trace.  The  intersection  of  two  hair- 
lines determines  a point  with  precision.  (A  determined  point  should  be  marked  faintly  with 
needle-point  or  pencil  tip,  and  enclosed,  for  ready  finding,  in  a small  circle  drawn  free-hand 
with  pencil.) 

The  most  accurate  drawings  are  first  constructed  with  hair-lines.  Afterward,  some  of  the 


10 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


lines  may  be  made  heavier  ; but  when  retracing  a hair-line  with  the  pencil,  make  a break  in  the 
heavy  line  at  each  accurately  determined  point,  that  it  may  not  be  obliterated. 

In  accurate  work,  hold  the  pencil  as  carefully  as  the  ruling-pen.  Hold  the  pencil  perpen- 
dicular to  the  paper,  with  the  exception  of  a slight  slant  in  the  direction  of  motion.  When 
drawing  any  line,  free-hand  or  otherwise,  with  the  pencil,  do  not  bear  down  enough  to  make  a 
groove  in  the  paper,  unless  absolutely  certain  that  no  part  of  the  line  will  require  erasure. 

The  chisel-pointed  pencil  should  be  so  held  that  the  chisel  edge  has  the  direction  of  the 
line  which  it  is  ruling. 

If  the  guide  is  pressed  firmly  on  the  paper  at  every  point  as  it  is  reached,  the  pencil  may 
be  given  an  outward  slant  to  bring  the  tip  of  the  lead  against  the  lower  edge  of  the  guide. 
But  if  the  pencil  is  thus  held,  and  the  guide  is  in  contact  with  the  paper  only  for  portions  of 
its  length,  the  pencil  point  will  trace  a crooked  line. 

Slant  the  pencil  neither  outward  nor  inward,  reaching  for  a point  through  which  the  line 
is  to  be  drawn  ; but  bring  the  guide  to  such  a position  that  the  pencil  tip  will  precisely  touch 
the  point  when  the  pencil  is  held  in  correct  position,  against  the  guide. 

20.  Ruling-Pen. — (Fig-  20.)  Ruling-pens  are  made  in  three  or  more  sizes.  The  simplest 
have  fixed  blades.  The  outer  blade,  in  one  form,  is  so  made  that  its  upper  end  acts  as  a spring 
to  throw  the  blades  a little  apart  when  released  by  the  set-screw.  The  blades  of  the  hinge-blade 
pen  may,  on  releasing  the  set-screw,  be  thrown  open  through  an  angle  of  90°  or  more.  Other 
pens  are  so  made  that  the  blades  can  be  opened  wide  and  again  closed,  without  disturbing  the 
set-screw.  Some  pen  handles  are  made  to  unscrew,  and  carry  a needle-point,  which  may  be  used 
for  marking  points  with  precision,  and  for  transferring  a drawing  from  one  sheet  to  another,  by 
pricking  through  the  original.  Pens  are  also  made  for  special  work,  as  the  curve-pen  for  drawing 
contours,  the  railroad-pen,  and  the  border-pen. 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


11 


21.  Care  of  Ruling-Pen. — (Fig.  20.)  The  nibs  of  the  ruling-pen  should  be  of  the 
same  width,  so  that,  when  brought  together,  one  nowhere  overlaps  the  other.  They  should  be  so 
sharp  that,  when  viewed  endwise,  they  reflect  no  light,  and  yet  not  sharp  enough  to  cut  the 
paper.  It  is  easy  to  break  a piece  from  a sharp  nib  by  careless  handling.  A roughness  of  the 
points  may  be  invisible  to  the  naked  eye  and  yet  make  the  pen  scratch  the  paper  (Fig.  25). 
When  the  pen  scratches,  or  is  dull  (as  shown  by  reflected  light  at  the  points),  it  should  be 
sharpened  by  rubbing  the  outside  surfaces  of  the  nibs  on  a fine  Arkansas  oilstone,  while  holding 
the  pen  at  an  angle  of  about  20°  with  the  stone.  To  make  the  points  of  equal  length,  draw  the 
pen  lightly  across  the  stone,  as  in  drawing  a line  on  paper  ; at  the  same  time  rock  the  pen,  in 
the  plane  of  motion,  to  round  the  nibs.  Frequently  examine  the  points  through  a magnifying- 
glass  during  the  grinding.  The  frequency  of  required  sharpening  depends  on  the  hardness  of  the 
steel  in  the  points,  and  on  the  use  given  the  pen.  Detail-paper  wears  a pen  rapidly,  and  it  is 
not  economy  to  use  such  paper  for  drawings  which  are  to  be  inked.  In  some  offices  a pen 
which  is  in  constant  use  is  sharpened  daily.  Usually  a beginner  should  practice  grinding  an  old 
pen  before  trying  to  sharpen  a new  one.  An  instrument-maker  will  properly  sharpen  a pen  for 
about  twenty-five  cents. 

Do  not  let  the  ink  ary  in  the  pen.  Before  laying  it  aside  for  a few  minutes,  shake  out 
the  ink  and  wipe  the  nibs,  inside  and  outside,  with  cloth  or  chamois.  At  the  end  of  a period 
of  work,  wipe  or  wash  off  all  traces  of  ink,  and  put  the  pen  away  with  its  nibs  bright  and 
thoroughly  dry.  Fig.  25  is  an  enlarged  sketch  of  the  inner  face  of  the  nib  of  a ruling-pen  which 
has  not  been  kept  scrupulously  clean. 

22.  Use  of  Ruling-Pen  . — The  opening  between  the  nibs  of  the  pen  is  made,  by  means 
of  the  set-screw  (Fig.  20),  equal  to  the  width,  or  thickness,  of  line  to  be  drawn.  When  setting 


12 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


the  pen  for  fine  lines  be  careful  that  the  nibs  are  not  made  to  touch  each  other.  Usually  the 
required  opening  between  the  nibs  is  determined  by  trial  after  the  pen  is  filled  with  ink.  Once 
set  to  give  the  desired  width  of  line,  the  set-screw  should  not  be  touched  until  it  is  required  to 
draw  lines  of  another  width,  or  to  clean  the  pen.  A piece  of  paper,  cloth,  or  chamois  is  run 
between  the  nibs  without  disturbing  the  setting,  to  remove  ink  which,  thickened  by  evapora- 
tion, partially  closes  the  outlet. 

To  fill  the  pen  with  inlc:  Take  the  pen  to  the  bottle.  Hold  the  pen,  nibs  up,  between  the 
thumb  and  first  finger,  and  the  bottle  (which  rests  on  the  table)  between  the  little  finger  and 
palm,  of  the  left  hand.  Remove  the  stopper  from  the  bottle  with  the  right  hand,  and,  by  means 
of  the  quill  inserted  in  the  lower  side  of  the  stopper  for  the  purpose,  transfer  the  ink,  drop  by 
drop,  from  bottle  to  pen.  Move  the  quill  point  upward  between  the  nibs,  if  necessary,  to  insure 
the  complete  transfer  of  the  ink  drop.  The  pen  is  too  full  only  when  the  ink  spills  out  on  a 
slight,  sudden  motion  of  the  pen.  A little  experience  will  determine  the  proper  amount  of  ink 
to  put  in  the  pen.  Do  not  wait  till  the  pen  is  empty  to  refill  it,  for  the  width  of  the  line  ruled 
changes  slightly  with  the  supply  of  ink.  Always  keep  the  exterior  of  the  nibs  absolutely  free 
from  ink  ; otherwise  ink  will  come  into  contact  with,  and  run  under,  the  guide,  making  a blot. 
Furthermore,  ink,  wet  or  dry,  on  the  exterior  of  the  nibs,  interferes  with  the  ruling  of  clean-cut  lines. 

To  rule  a line : Hold  the  pen  perpendicular  to  the  paper,  with  the  axis  of  the  set-screw  per- 
pendicular to  the  direction  of  the  line  to  be  drawn,  and  with  the  screw  head  on  the  far  side  of 
the  pen.  Move  the  pen  from  left  to  right.  The  weight  of  the  hand  is  carried  by  the  third  and 
fourth  fingers,  which  rest  upon,  and  move  along,  the  guide.  Ho  not  press  the  pen  against  the 
guide,  for  this  tends  to  close  the  pen  opening.  In  beginning  to  draw  a line,  after  the  pen  has 
been  placed  at  the  starting-point,  put  the  head  directly  in  front  of  the  pen,  to  see  that  the 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


13 


handle  has  no  slope  to  right  or  left.  Then,  place  the  head  in  such  a position  that  the  eyes 
are  about  ten  inches  above  the  guiding  edge,  and  about  ten  inches  to  the  left  of  the  pen.  With 
the  head  in  this  position,  the  inside  faces  of  the  blades  are  equally  visible  when  the  set-screw 
axis  is  perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  the  line  to  be  drawn.  In  moving  the  pen  to  the  right 
to  rule  the  line,  the  hand  should  swing  neither  about  the  elbow  nor  shoulder,  as  a pivot.  Simply 
move  the  body  to  the  right,  carrying  the  hand  and  arm  with  it.  Beginners  usually  make  the 
mistake  of  placing  the  head  directly  above  the  pen  nibs,  to  see  which  then  requires  the  pen 
handle  to  be  thrown  to  the  right.  See  Figs.  40,  41. 

Reach  neither  in  nor  out,  with  the  pen,  to  make  the  nibs  pass  through  a given  point ; 
but  bring  the  guide  to  such  a position  that  the  nibs  will  pass  precisely  through  the  point  while 
the  pen  is  held  correctly,  in  contact  with  the  guide.  Study  Figs.  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  and  11  in  con- 
nection with  this  article. 

23.  Ink. — Formerly  all  drawing-ink  was  prepared  for  use,  day  by  day,  by  rubbing  stick 
India-ink  on  the  bottom  of  a dish  wet  with  a small  quantity  of  water.  Now,  ready-made  liquid 
drawing-inks  are  most  commonly  used.  These  are  made  water-proof  and  non-water-proof,  in 
black  and  in  colors.  Water-proof  ink  should  be  used  for  most  drawings.  Non-water-proof  may  flow  a 
little  more  freely  than  the  water-proof  ink,  but  a drawing  made  with  the  former  is  easily 
smeared  by  handling.  Do  not  waste  time  and  make  poor  lines  in  attempting  to  economize  by 
using  the  dregs  of  an  old  bottle. 

24.  Care  and  Use  of  Ink. — Keep  the  bottle  well  corked  at  all  times  when  not  actually 
taking  out  ink,  which  rapidly  deteriorates  by  evaporation.  Keep  the  bottle  off  the  drawing. 
The  ink  may  be  thinned  by  adding  some  drops  of  water,  alcohol,  or  ammonia,  when  it  has 
become  too  thick,  but  this  mixture  is  not  as  good  as  new  ink.  Remove  ink  at  once  from  all 


14 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


surfaces  to  which  it  has  come  by  accident.  Leave  ink  to  dry  neither  on  the  ruling-  nor  lettering- 
pen,  as  it  corrodes,  and  thus  injures,  the  nibs.  Flies  take  up  ink,  and  should  be  kept  from 
drawings,  especially  those  made  on  tracing  cloth,  while  ink-lines  are  wet. 

To  supply  the  ruling-pen  with  ink,  follow  directions  under  22.  The  lettering-pen  is  dipped 
in  the  ink  as  in  ordinary  writing,  but  the  stopper  must  be  replaced  in  the  bottle  after  each  dip. 

25.  Rubber  Pencil-Eraser. — The  best  eraser  is  that  which  wears  away  so  rapidly  as 
always  to  present  a fresh  surface.  Erasers  harden  with  age,  and  finally  injure  the  paper  without 
properly  removing  pencil  lines.  Before  applying  it  to  a drawing,  the  end  of  the  eraser  is  cleaned 
by  rubbing  it  on  a piece  of  fresh  paper.  Erase  gently,  especially  over  ink  lines.  Too  energetic 
erasing  dulls  ink  lines  and  roughens  the  paper  surface.  The  rubbing  should  be  done  in  the 
direction  of  ink  lines  rather  than  across  them.  If,  in  spite  of  care,  a drawing  becomes  grimy, 
clean  it  with  stale  bread  (26). 

26.  Stale  Bread. — Stale  bread  does  not  erase  pencil  marks  well,  but  removes  grime 
from  a drawing,  while  leaving  the  ink  lines  brighter,  and  the  paper  surface  fresher,  than  when 
rubber  is  used.  The  soft  interior  of  the  loaf  is  broken  out  in  handfuls  and  rubbed  over  the 
drawing,  fresh  pieces  being  added  as  that  in  use  becomes  soiled  or  crumbles  from  under  the 
hand,  which  is  held  nearly  flat. 

27.  Rubber  Ink-Eraser. — This  should  be  cleaned  at  the  working  end,  before  it  is  ap- 
plied to  the  drawing,  by  rubbing  on  a piece  of  fresh  drawing-paper.  The  ink  to  be  removed 
should  have  been  drying  for  an  hour,  preferably  a day.  As  the  ink-eraser  cuts  the  paper 
rapidly,  care  should  be  taken  to  rub  as  little  as  possible  beyond  the  ink  surface  to  be  removed. 
For  erasing  lines  it  is  a good  plan  to  make  a stencil  of  heavy  paper  or  very  thin  sheet-metal, 
through  a slit  in  which  the  erasing  is  done.  The  rubber  ink-eraser  is  generally  used  after  the 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


15 


greater  part  of  the  ink  has  been  removed  with  the  steel  ink-eraser  or  sharp  blade  of  a knife. 
The  erased  surface  should  be  put  in  condition  to  take  ink,  by  means  of  pumice  powder  (29). 

28.  Steel  Ink-Eraser. — This  is  used  to  remove  ink  which  has  been  placed  on  a draw- 
ing by  accident  or  mistake.  A sharp  pocket-knife  serves  the  same  end.  It  should  be  held  so 
that  the  blade  stands  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  paper,  and  with  the  edge  almost  parallel  to 
the  ink  line  to  be  erased.  It  should  be  held  firmly,  so  that,  if  possible,  in  moving  backward 
and  forward  along  the  line  over  a short  space,  it  will  remove  the  crust  of  ink  and  leave  the 
paper  surface  beneath  and  at  the  sides  of  the  line  undisturbed.  The  ink  should  have  dried  at 
least  an  hour  before  using  the  eraser.  It  ruins  the  paper  surface  to  try  to  erase  while  the  paper 
is  yet  moist  from  the  ink.  A dull  eraser  injures  the  paper  without  satisfactorily  removing  the 
ink.  Pumice  powder  (29)  is  better  than  steel  for  erasing  ink  from  tracing-cloth. 

29.  Pumice  Powder. — This  is  used  to  remove  ink  from  tracing-cloth,  to  prepare  the 
glossy  side  of  tracing-cloth  for  drawing,  and  to  resurface  drawing-paper  where  it  has  been  rough- 
ened by  the  ink-eraser.  To  use  as  an  ink-eraser,  rub  the  powder  over  the  ink  to  be  removed 
with  the  finger  or  soft  rubber.  Supply  fresh  powder  as  that  in  use  becomes  soiled.  The  powder 
must  be  thoroughly  removed  from  the  cloth  before  applying  the  pen.  Apply  the  powder,  by 
means  of  a soft  rubber  or  piece  of  paper,  to  resurface  roughened  drawing-paper. 

30.  Scale. — The  ordinary  two-foot  rule  is  a scale  divided  naturally,  i.  e.,  each  unit  (one 
inch)  is  divided  into  halves,  quarters,  eighths,  sixteenths,  thirty-seconds,  or  sixty-fourths.  The 
engineer's  scale  is  divided  decimally.  Each  unit  (which  may  be  one  inch,  or  one-half,  one-third, 
one-fourth,  one-fifth,  one-sixth,  one-eighth,  or  one-tenth  of  an  inch)  is  divided  into  ten  equal 
parts.  The  architect's  scale  is  divided  duodecimally.  Each  unit  (which  may  be  one  inch,  three 
inches,  three-thirty-seconds,  one-eighth,  three-sixteenths,  one-fourth,  three-eighths,  one-half,  three- 


16 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


fourths,  or  three-halves  of  an  inch)  is  divided  into  twelve  equal  parts.  The  form  of  scale  (rule) 
most  commonly  used  by  students,  and  known  as  the  triangular  scale,  has  a triangular  cross- 
section,  and  is  made  of  boxwood,  boxwood  faced  with  celluloid,  or  metal.  It  is  used  in  preference 
to  a fiat  scale  only  because,  by  its  form,  it  presents  a greater  number  of  edges  for  graduation. 
The  best  scales  are  engine-divided  ; the  cheaper  scales  are  stamped. 

31.  Care  of  Scale. — Use  a scale  as  a guide  for  neither  pen  nor  pencil.  Such  use 
of  the  scale  injures  its  edges,  which,  with  the  graduation  faces,  should  be  kept  free  from  marks 
and  indentations. 

32.  Use  of  Scale. — Only  the  natural  scale  need  be  used  in  the  work  outlined  in  this 

course.  To  lay  off  a given  distance  from  a given  point  on  a given  line  : Place  the  triangular 

scale  on  the  paper  so  that  the  edge  which  is  divided  to  sixteenths  of  an  inch  lies  parallel,  and 

as  near  as  possible,  to  the  given  line,  and  the  zero  mark  of  this  edge  is  precisely  at  the  given 

point.  Then  make  with  the  needle-point,  or  cone-pointed  pencil,  a minute  mark  on  the  given 

line  precisely  under  that  mark  of  the  scale  which  lies  at  the  given  distance  from  the  zero  mark. 
To  be  sure  that  a scale  mark  is  precisely  at  a given  point  on  the  paper,  or  vice  versa , the  head 
must  be  placed  above  the  scale,  so  that  you  look  directly  along  the  scale  mark.  The  utmost  pre- 
cision is  required  in  laying  off  and  measuring  distances  when  aiming  at  extreme  accuracy,  as 
when  drawing  Plate  4.  The  divider  should  not  be  used  to  transfer  distances  from  scale  to 
paper  nor  from  paper  to  scale,  for  this  practice  involves  loss  of  time  and  accuracy  (35). 

33.  Divider. — Dividers  are  made  in  different  forms  and  sizes.  One  form  is  shown  in 
Fig.  23.  The  set-screw,  near  the  middle  of  one  leg,  controls  the  hair-spring,  the  action  of  which 
is  shown  in  Fig.  22  and  explained  in  36. 

34.  Care  of  Divider. — Draw  no  circles  with  the  divider.  The  divider  legs  should  open 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


17 


with  only  sufficient  friction  to  hold  the  legs,  with  careful  handling,  at  any  desired  opening.  The 
friction  at  the  head  joint  is  regulated  by  means  of  the  screw-driver  provided  for  that  purpose. 
The  adjustment  should  be  carefully  made,  to  avoid  injuring  the  screw  threads.  Wipe  the  steel 
surfaces  of  the  divider  dry  with  soft  cloth  or  chamois  when  replacing  them  in  the  case.  Keep 
the  divider,  when  not  in  use,  in  the  case,  to  prevent  accident  to  the  points. 

35.  Use  of  Divider. — The  divider  is  used  to  transfer  distances  from  place  to  place  on 
a drawing,  and  from  one  drawing  to  another.  Its  chief  use  is  in  laying  off  a given  distance  a 
number  of  times,  and  in  dividing  a given  line  into  a given  number  of  equal  parts  (62).  Trans- 
ferring distance  by  means  of  the  divider  from  scale  to  paper  and  paper  to  scale  is  now  poor 
practice,  though  formerly  the  awkward  form  of  the  scale  used  made  it  necessary.  Do  not 
push  the  divider  points  into  the  paper  farther  than  is  necessary  to  make  the  smallest  visible 
hole,  which  may  be  readily  found  again  if  it  is  enclosed  with  a pencil  mark.  Work  requiring  a 
small  divider  opening  is  best  done  with  the  bow  divider  (41-43). 

36.  Compass. — Compasses  are  made  in  three  or  more  sizes  and  of  many  forms,  one 
of  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  22.  The  compass  set  includes  all  the  parts  shown  in  this  figure, 
which  should  be  studied  in  connection  with  the  instruments  themselves.  On  turning  the  set- 
screw which  controls  the  hair-spring,  the  needle  leg  moves  toward  the  opposite  compass  leg.  By 
this  means  a minute  change  in  the  opening  (or  spread)  of  the  compass  is  easily  made.  The 
pen  leg,  pencil  leg,  and  the  lengthening-bar  may  be  inserted  in,  and  removed  from,  the  compass 
leg  at  will.  The  needle  leg,  in  the  style  of  compass  here  shown,  is  fixed  to  its  compass  leg.  The 
point  of  the  needle,  which  is  clamped  in  the  foot  of  the  needle  leg,  serves  as  the  pivot  about 
which  the  compass  rotates  when  drawing  a circle.  One  end  of  the  needle  is  a cone-point  and 
the  other  a shoulder-point.  Use  the  shoulder-point.  The  lengthening-bar  is  inserted  between 


18 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


the  compass  leg  and  the  pencil  or  pen  leg  only  when,  without  it,  the  distance  between  needle- 
point and  marking-point  would  not  be  sufficient  to  draw  a circle  of  given  radius. 

37.  Care  of  Compass. — The  friction  of  the  head  joint  is  regulated  in  the  manner  de- 
scribed in  34.  The  steel  surfaces  of  the  compass  and  parts  should  be  wiped  dry  with  soft  cloth 

or  chamois  to  prevent  rusting,  when  put  away  in  the  case.  The  pen  leg  must  be  cared  for  with 

the  thoroughness  prescribed  for  the  ruling-pen  (21).  All  the  screws  used  should  be  turned  with 

a delicate  touch,  for  they  are  small  and  easily  injured  by  too  tight  setting. 

38.  Use  of  Compass. — To  draw  a circle,  the  compass  handle  is  taken  between  the 

right  thumb  and  first  finger,  and  the  needle-point  is  guided  to  the  circle  center  by  the  left  hand. 
By  trial,  make  the  needle  leg  and  pencil  leg  perpendicular  to  the  paper  while  making  the  dis- 
tance between  their  points  equal  to  the  radius  of  the  circle  to  be  drawn.  A minute  change  in 
the  distance  between  the  points  is  best  made  by  turning  the  set-screw  of  the  hair-spring  with  the 
left  thumb  and  first  finger  (Fig.  22)  while  the  needle-point  is  at  the  circle  center.  To  prevent 

the  needle-point’s  making  a hole  at  the  circle  center,  keep  the  needle  leg  as  nearly  as  possible 

perpendicular  to  the  paper  and  let  the  needle  rest  with  only  enough  pressure  on  the  paper  to 

prevent  its  slipping.  For  accuracy,  the  needle  mark  at  the  center  of  a circle  or  set  of  concen- 

tric circles  must  remain  so  minute  as  to  require  enclosing  in  a small  free-hand  circle  for  ready 
finding.  Small  circles  are  best  drawn  with  bow  pen  and  bow  pencil  (41-43). 

39.  Compass-Lead. — The  lead  in  the  pencil  leg  should  be  HHHHHH,  and  if  this  cannot 
otherwise  be  had,  cut  a piece  from  the  HHHHHH  pencil.  Sharpen  the  lead  to  a chisel-point 
(18),  making  the  edge  of  the  chisel  precisely  tangent  to  the  circle  which  it  draws.  In  accurate 
figure  construction  the  circle  lines  must  be  as  fine  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them — as  fine  as 
are  the  straight  pencil  lines  for  the  same  class  of  work  (19). 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


19 


40.  Compass  Pen. — If  the  blades  of  the  pen  leg  are  of  equal  length,  the  pen  leg  should 
be  perpendicular  to  the  paper  when  drawing  a circumference,  for  in  this  position  the  two  nibs 
will  come  into  full  contact  with  the  paper,  and  the  line  drawn  will  be  smooth  on  both  edges. 
If  the  two  blades  of  the  pen  are  of  unequal  length,  the  pen  must  be  given  a slant,  which  is 
found  by  trial,  just  sufficient  to  make  the  nibs  touch  the  paper  with  equal  pressure.  Study 
Fig.  17. 

41.  Bow  Instruments. — Fig.  24  shows  the  center-wheel  style  of  bow  divider.  In  an- 
other form  the  adjusting  wheel  is  placed  on  the  outside  of  one  of  the  legs.  The  bow  pen  and 
bow  pencil  are  like  the  bow  divider  from  the  handle  down  to  and  including  the  adjusting  wheel. 
One  leg  of  the  bow  pen  terminates  in  a needle ; the  other  carries  a pen,  which  should  be  cared 
for  in  the  manner  described  in  21.  The  bow  pencil  carries  in  one  leg  a needle,  and  in  the  other 
a piece  of  lead.  This  lead  should  be,  for  accurate  work,  exactly  like  that  described  in  39. 

42.  Care  of  Bow  Instruments. — The  instruments  should  be  wiped  dry  before  they  are 
put  away  after  each  work  period.  They  should  be  in  the  case  when  not  in  use.  They  must  be 
handled  with  care,  that  their  points  may  remain  in  good  condition.  To  change  the  opening  (or 
spread)  of  the  side-wheel  bow  instrument,  with  the  left  thumb  and  first  finger  gently  press  the 
points  inward  to  decrease  the  friction  on  the  wheel ; then  turn  the  wheel.  The  final  adjust- 
ment must  still  be  made  with  the  points  released. 

43.  Use  of  Bow  Instruments. — The  bow  divider  takes  the  place  of  the  ordinary 
divider  (33-35)  when  a small  divider  opening  is  required.  The  two  other  bow  instruments  are 
used  in  preference  to  the  ordinary  compass  (36-40)  for  small  circles. 

44.  Lettering-Pen. — Any  of  the  many  styles  of  steel  pens  used  for  writing  may  be  used 
for  lettering.  That  pen  which  is  best  adapted  to  a given  person  for  a given  piece  of  work,  can 


20 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


be  determined  only  by  trial.  The  coarseness  of  the  pen  point  should  correspond  to  the  thickness 
of  the  stroke  to  be  made.  In  the  order  of  coarseness,  Gillott’s  303  and  404,  and  Leonardt’s  506F 
ball-pointed  pens  are  satisfactory. 

45.  Care  of  Lettering-Pen. — It  is  well  to  break  in  a new  pen  before  using  it  on  a 
drawing.  First  remove  the  protective  oil  coating  by  alternately  dipping  in  the  ink  and  wiping 
the  pen  dry  with  a soft  cloth  or  chamois.  The  lettering-pen  should  be  used  only  with  drawing- 
inks,  not  with  writing-inks  and  fluids.  The  pen  should  be  wiped  clean  with  soft  cloth  or  cham- 
ois each  time  the  ink  on  it  is  used  up,  and  at  the  end  of  each  period  of  pen  work.  The  pen 
should  not  be  dipped  deeper  than  just  above  the  eye,  in  the  ink.  Wipe  -from  the  holder  the  ink 
which  gets  on  it  at  the  neck  of  the  bottle. 

46.  Use  of  Lettering-Pen. — Keep  the  bottle  off  the  drawing-paper  and  take  the  pen  to 
the  bottle  when  about  to  dip.  After  dipping,  jar  the  pen  to  shake  a surplus  drop  or  two  back 
into  the  bottle,  and  at  once  recork  the  bottle.  Carry  the  pen  from  the  bottle  to  the  paper,  in  a 
horizontal  position,  ink  side  up,  to  prevent  possible  blots. 

The  pen  must  be  pressed  on  the  paper  at  the  starting-point  of  a stroke,  with  the  weight 
which  is  to  be  applied  throughout  the  stroke.  The  beginner  must  consciously  divide  the  work  of 
making  each  stroke  into  the  following  efforts  : 

(1)  Place  the  pen  point  at  the  point  for  beginning  the  stroke. 

(2)  Press  the  pen  on  the  paper  to  make  the  width  of  stroke  desired  (the  beginner  should 
use  very  little  pressure). 

(3)  Keeping  this  pressure  constant,  move  the  pen  to  form  the  stroke. 

(4)  Stop  the  pen  at  the  stroke  end. 

(5)  Lift  the  pen  vertically  from  the  paper. 


INSTRUMENTS  AND  MATERIALS. 


21 


In  this  way  only  can  clean-cut  strokes  be  made.  The  skilled  letterer  goes  through  the  same 
distinct  efforts,  but  almost  unconsciously. 

The  penholder  should  be  held  to  make  with  the  paper  as  small  an  angle  as  is  easily  pos- 
sible. In  this  position  the  pen  nibs  are  less  apt  to  pick  up  the  fibres  of  the  paper  than  when 
held  more  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  paper. 

47.  Blotter. — A blotter  is  never  used  to  blot  a drawing  as  one  blots  a piece  of  writing. 
If  ink  is  spilled  on  a drawing,  the  blotter  is  so  placed  that  it  will  draw  up  the  ink  without 
coming  in  contact  with  the  paper  surface.  When  the  flow  of  ink  has  been  too  rapid  from  a 
lettering-  or  ruling-pen  and  the  ink  is  piled  high,  so  that  there  is  danger  of  its  breaking  over 
the  proper  limits  of  the  line,  tear  a piece  from  a blotter  and  bring  the  tip  of  this  carefully 
down  to  the  top  of  the  ink  globule  to  absorb  the  surplus  without  spreading  the  remainder  over 
the  paper. 

Under  all  ordinary  conditions  the  ink  lines  are  given  time  to  dry.  Beginners  are  apt  to 
get  impatient  and  hasten  the  drying  by  blotting,  as  in  writing,  and  in  this  way  ruin  the  lines 
so  treated. 


CHAPTER  II. 


A Course  in  Linear  Drawing. 

§ 3.  To  Lay  Out  and  To  Finish  a Plate. 

48.  To  Fix  the  Paper. — Fold  a Double  Elephant  sheet  of  drawing-paper  three  times, 
in  this  way  : (1)  fold  the  long  way  of  the  original  sheet ; (2)  fold  the  long  way  of  the  doubled 
sheet ; (3)  fold  the  long  way  of  the  quadrupled  sheet.  Cut  the  paper  along  the  folded  edges, 
making  8 sheets,  each  a little  larger  than  9"x  12"  (9  inches  by  12  inches). 

Fig.  1.  By  means  of  thumb-tacks  (one  in  each  corner  of  the  paper),  fix  one  of  these 
9"  x 12"  sheets  to  the  drawing-board,  in  such  a position  that  the  blade  of  the  T square  will  be 
parallel  to  the  long  edges  of  the  paper  when  the  T head  slides  along  in  contact  with  the  left 
edge  of  the  board.  Additional  tacks  along  the  edges  of  the  sheet  may  be  required  to  hold  the 
paper  flat.  For  another  method  of  fastening  the  paper  to  the  board  see  97. 

49.  Cutting  Line. — On  the  sheet  of  paper  thus  fixed  draw  a rectangle,  thus  (Fig.  2): 

Press  the  head  of  the  T against  the  left  edge  of  the  board,  while  the  blade  lies  flat  on 

the  paper. 

Slide  the  head  of  the  T along  in  full  contact  with  the  left  edge  of  the  board,  till  the  upper 
edge  of  the  blade  is  ¥ above  the  lower  edge  of  the  sheet. 

Along  the  upper  edge  of  the  blade  while  in  this  position,  draw  a pencil  line  on  the  paper 
(17-19). 


A COURSE  IN  LINEAR  DRAWING. 


23 


With  the  pencil  make  a fine  dot  on  this  line  about  f"  from  the  left  edge  of  the  sheet. 
Enclose  this  dot  in  a small  free-hand  pencil  circle,  that  it  may  readily  be  found  (19),  and  mark  it 
a,  as  in  Fig.  2. 

Lay  off  on  this  line  to  the  right  of  a the  distance  ac  = 12''  (32).  Place  a dot  at  c,  the 
right  extremity  of  this  distance. 

Slide  the  T head  along  in  full  contact  with  the  left  edge  of  the  board  till  the  upper  edge 
of  the  blade  is  below  the  penciled  line  ac. 

Place  a triangle  with  one  of  its  perpendicular  edges  against  the  upper  edge  of  the  blade, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  1. 

Slide  the  triangle  along  in  full  contact  with  the  blade,  till  the  edge  perpendicular  to  the 
blade  just  clears  the  point  a. 

With  pencil  draw  ae  along  the  vertical  edge  of  the  triangle  precisely  through  the  point  a. 
ae  is  perpendicular  to  ac  at  a (assuming  that  the  triangle  is  true).* 

Draw  cd  through  c perpendicular  to  ac,  in  the  same  way. 

From  a lay  off  on  ae  the  distance  ae  = 9",  and  mark  the  point  e. 

Slide  the  T head  along  the  left  edge  of  the  board  till  the  upper  edge  of  the  blade  just 
touches  point  e. 


*To  test  a triangle:  Make  a fine  point  just  below  the  center  of  the  paper,  and  mark  it  a.  Slide  the  T 
head  along  the  left  edge  of  the  board  till  the  upper  edge  of  the  blade  clears  the  point  a by  a quarter-inch.  With 
the  triangle  to  be  tested,  draw  a hair  line  through  the  point  a perpendicular  to  the  T blade.  Hold  the  T blade 
fast.  Turn  the  triangle  bottom  up  by  revolving  it  about  the  edge  which  is  perpendicular  to  the  blade.  Again  draw 
a perpendicular  to  the  blade  through  the  point  a,  using  the  triangle  in  its  present  position.  Any  angle  between  the 
two  lines  drawn  is  double  the  error  in  the  right  angle  of  the  triangle. 


24 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


Draw  a line  with  the  pencil  through  the  point  e,  along  the  blade  and  ^across  the  paper. 

The  four  lines  thus  drawn  enclose  a rectangular  space  9"xl2".  M&rk  the  unlettered  corner  d. 

When  the  plate  is  finished,  i.  e.,  when  the  drawing  on  this  sheet  has  been  completed,  the 
paper  will  be  smoothly  cut  with  a sharp  knife  along  the  four  lines  just  drawn. 

As  you  have  done,  draw  all  horizontal  lines  (lines  running  from  left  to  right)  along  the 

upper  edge  of  the  blade  of  the  T,  while  its  head  is  in  full  contact  with  the  left  edge  of  the  board. 
Draw  all  vertical  lines  along  one  perpendicular  edge  of  a triangle  while  the  other  is  in  full  con- 
tact with  the  upper  edge  of  the  blade  of  the  T,  which  is  in  correct  position  for  drawing  hori- 
zontal lines.  See  Fig.  1.  If  the  near  edge  of  the  board  is  true  and  perpendicular  to  the  left 
edge,  vertical  lines  may  be  drawn  along  the  T blade,  sliding  the  T head  along  the  near  edge. 

50.  Border  Line. — Fig.  2.  From  the  point  a lay  off*  toward  ac  the  distance  ab  = 1". 
Mark  the  point  b. 

Through  b draw  the  vertical  line  bf  (parallel  to  ae). 

Lay  off  upward  from  b on  bf  the  distance  bi  = £".  Mark  point  i. 

From  i lay  off  if  = 7^".  Mark  the  point  f. 

Through  i draw  the  horizontal  line  ih. 

Through  f draw  the  horizontal  line  fg. 

From  f lay  off  fg  — 10|".  Mark  g. 

Through  g draw  the  vertical  line  gh. 

ifgb  is  the  border  line  within  which  all  further  drawing  on  this  sheet  is  to  be  done.  The 
space  between  the  cutting  line  and  the  border  line  is  the  margin,  and  is  to  be  left  free  from 
marks,  except  for  certain  lettering. 

51.  To  Finish  a Plate. — With  the  rubber  pencil-eraser  (25),  remove  the  pencil  lines 


A COURSE  IN  LINEAR  DRAWING. 


25 


from  the  area  bounded  by  the  cutting  line  (49).  If  the  drawing  is  grimy,  clean  it  with  stale 
bread  (26).  Print  lightly  with  pencil  the  plate  number  (at  the  right  end  of  the  top  border  line), 
the  name  of  the  draftsman  (at  the  right  end  of  the  lower  border  line),  and  the  date  (at  the  left 
end  of  the  latter  line).  After  completing  the  course  in  Lettering,  the  lettering  of  the  plates  is  to 
be  carefully  done  with  the  lettering-pen.  Cut  the  paper  with  a-  sharp  knife  along  the  cutting 
line.  Use  neither  a straight-edge  (triangle  side  or  T blade)  nor  a triangular  scale,  as  a guide  for 
the  knife. 

After  completing  all  the  plates  in  Linear  Drawing,  bind  them  into  a book  with  a cover- 
plate  (70). 

§ 4.  Plate  1 : Medium  Lines. 

52.  Full  Lines. — Make  dots  j"  apart,  dividing  the  line  if  into  30  equal  parts.  Through 
each  dot  will  be  drawn  a line  with  the  ruling-pen. 

The  ruling-pen  and  the  water-proof  ink  now  come  into  use.  By  means  of  the  set-screw 
of  the  ruling-pen,  make  the  distance  between  the  nibs  equal  to  the  width  of  the  first  line  in 
Fig.  3.  Fill  the  pen  with  ink  (21). 

In  the  rectangle  ifgh.,  through  the  dots  on  the  line  if,  you  are  to  draw  a series  of  22 
horizontal  lines  with  the  ruling-pen.  Each  line  is  to  extend  from  if  to  gh..  The  first  line 
to  be  ruled  is  fg. 

Following  the  directions  given  in  21,  rule  the  line  fg.  Now  ask  yourself  the  following 
questions  : 

(1)  Is  the  lower  edge  only  of  the  line  ragged,  as  in  Fig.  9 ? If  so,  you  inclined  the  pen 
handle  from  you  while  drawing  the  line. 


26 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


(2)  Is  the  line  ragged  on  only  the  upper  edge,  as  in  Fig.  10?  If  so,  you  inclined  the  pen 
handle  toward  you. 

(3)  Is  the  line  ragged  on  both  sides,  as  in  Fig.  11?  If  so,  the  axis  of  the  set-screw  was  not 
perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  motion. 

(4)  Does  the  width  of  the  line  vary,  as  in  Fig.  8?  If  so,  you  have  pressed  the  pen  on  the 
paper  or  against  the  blade  with  a varying  force,  thus  changing  the  opening  between  the  nibs. 

In  beginning  to  draw  a line  and  after  the  pen  has  been  placed  at  the  starting-point,  place  the 
head  directly  in  front  of  the  pen  to  see  that  the  handle  has  no  slope  to  right  or  left.  Then  place  the 
head  in  such  a position  that  the  eyes  are  about  10"  directly  above  the  upper  edge  of  T blade  and  about 
10"  to  the  left  of  the  pen.  With  the  head  in  this  position  the  inside  faces  of  the  blades  are  equally 
visible  when  the  set-screw  axis  is  perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  motion.  In  moving  the  pen  to  the 
right  to  draw  a line,  the  right  hand  and  arm  should  remain  rigid  and  not  swing  about  the  shoulder 
or  elbow  as  a pivot.  Move  the  body  to  the  right,  carrying  the  hand  and  arm  with  it.  Do  not  try 
to  improve  an  imperfect  line  by  re-ruling  it. 

Continue  drawing  full  lines  until  22  have  been  drawn,  and  on  completing  each  examine  it  as 
you  did  the  first  line.  Ascertain,  if  possible,  the  cause  of  each  imperfection,  and  aim  to  avoid  it 
in  drawing  each  succeeding  line.  Rule  a line  by  moving  the  pen  at  uniform  speed. 

53.  Dash  Lines. — Now  with  the  same  pen  opening  draw  the  next  4 lines  like  the 
dash  line  of  Fig.  3.  Make  the  dashes  and  intervals  of  the  lengths  shown  there.  If  necessary,  draw 
the  first  line  in  pencil  and  lay  off  on  it  from  the  left  end,  first  the  length  of  a dash,  then  the  length 
of  the  break  between  dashes;  and  so  on  alternately.  Then  retrace  with  ink  and  ruling-pen. 

In  drawing  each  segment  (or  dash)  the  same  rules  are  followed  as  when  drawing  any  straight 
line.  The  outline  of  each  dash  should  be  rectangular  (Fig.  6).  To  draw  the  dash:  (1)  Hold  the 


A COURSE  IN  LINEAR  DRAWING. 


27 


pen  in  the  position  for  drawing,  at  the  beginning  of  the  dash;  (2)  see  that  the  ink  touches  the  paper; 
(3)  move  the  pen,  as  in  drawing  a straight  line,  to  the  right  end  of  the  dash;  (4)  stop  the  pen;  (5) 
lift  the  pen  vertically  from  the  paper.  If  these  directions  are  neglected  there  may  result  a dash  of 
irregular  outline  (Fig.  7).  The  cause  of  the  forked  dash  may  be  seen  by  holding  the  well-filled  pen, 
handle  up,  between  the  window  and  the  eye  (Fig.  20). 

Draw  4 dash  lines. 

54.  Dot  Lines. — The  27th  and  28th  lines  are  to  be  dot  lines.  Each  dot  is  a very  short 
dash.  Use  the  dot  line  of  Fig.  3 for  a model. 

55.  Dash-Dot  Lines. — The  last  3 lines  are  to  be  dash-dot  lines.  Use  the  dash-dot  line  of 
F4  . 3 as  a model. 

Finish  the  plate  (51). 

Plate  1 is  to  be  repeated  till  the  character  'of  the  lines  is  satisfactory. 


§ 5.  Plates  2 and  3. 

56.  Plate  2:  Heavy  Lines.— Plate  2 is  like  Plate  1,  except  that  the  pen  opening  and  the 
lengths  of  dots,  dashes,  and  intervals  are  to  be  taken  from  Fig.  4. 

Plate  2 is  to  be  repeated  till  the  work  is  satisfactory. 

57.  Plate  3:  Fine  Lines. — This  plate  is  to  be  like  Plate  2,  except  that  Fig.  5 is  to  be 
followed  as  a model.  This  plate  is  to  be  repeated  till  the  pen-work  is  satisfactory.  Fine  lines  are 
more  difficult  to  make  well  than  either  of  the  others,  because  the  ink  dries  very  rapidly  in  the  narrow 
pen  opening.  Do  not  bear  down  on  the  pen  to  start  or  aid  the  flow  of  ink,  for  this  brings  the  points 
of  the  pen  nearer  together  and  still  farther  retards  the  flow.  If  the  pen  makes  no  mark,  or  only  a 


28 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


ragged  or  irregular  one,  the  only  remedy  (provided  the  points  are  properly  sharpened)  is  to  clean  and 
refill  the  pen.  This  may  have  to  be  done  every  two  or  three  minutes,  oroftener  on  a warm  day.  For 
fine  lines  special  pains  must  be  taken  to  keep  the  outsides  of  the  nibs  perfectly  bright  while  drawing. 
Patient  attention  to  details  will  produce  good  work. 

Do  not  entirely  close  the  opening  between  the  points  of  the  nibs  in  the  endeavor  to  make 
fine  lines. 


§ 6.  Plate  3a:  Circles. 

58.  Pencil  Circles. — Lay  out  a plate  (48,  49,  50).  The  inner  rectangle  is  to  be  used  for 
drawing  circles  with  pen  and  pencil. 

Follow  the  directions  given  in  37-40. 

Spread  the  compass  legs  till  the  knuckle  joints  are  about  2"  apart,  and  bend  the  knuckle  joints 
to  make  the  needle  leg  and  pencil  leg  parallel  to  the  bisector  of  the  angle  between  the  compass  legs. 
Fig.  22  shows  the  needle  and  pencil  legs  so  bent. 

Select  any  point  well  within  the  border  line  of  the  paper  for  a center,  at  which  place  the  point 
of  the  needle  leg.  Holding  the  handle  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  (Fig.  22),  so  that  the  needle 
leg  is  about  perpendicular  to  the  paper,  let  the  pencil  point  come  in  contact  with  the  paper.  Rotate 
the  compass  about  the  needle  point  as  a pivot,  causing  the  pencil  to  trace  a circumference.  Bear 
down  on  the  pencil  leg  only  enough  to  make  the  finest  possible  distinct  line. 

With  the  same  center,  but  with  varying  radii,  draw  many  circles.  So  manipulate  the  compass 
that  the  needle  mark  at  the  circle  center  remains  almost  invisible.  Sharpen  the  pencil  as  soon  as  it 
becomes  dulled,  so  as  to  make  all  the  lines  have  the  same  appearance. 


A COURSE  IN  LINEAR  DRAWING. 


29 


From  new  centers,  draw  other  sets  of  circumferences.  This  work  is  to  be  continued  no  longer 
than  necessary  to  give  the  student  familiarity  with  the  compass. 

59.  Ink  Circles. — Loosen  the  clamp-screw  which  holds  the  pencil  leg;  remove  the  pencil 
leg  ; insert  the  pen  leg  ; tighten  the  clamp-screw  gently.  Bend  the  pen  leg  at  the  knuckle  joint.  Set 
the  pen,  by  means  of  the  set-screw,  for  medium  lines  (Fig.  3).  Fill  the  pen  with  ink  (22).  Retrace 
in  ink  those  circles  which  have  been  drawn  with  the  pencil. 

Examine  the  character  of  the  first  ink  circle  drawn  in  connection  with  Fig.  17.  If  the  line  is 
smooth  on  both  edges,  the  pen  points  touch  the  paper  equally.  If  the  line  is  rough  on  the  inside, 
bend  the  pen  leg  outward  about  its  knuckle  joint  to  bring  the  inner  nib  of  the  pen  into  contact  with 
the  paper.  This  changes  the  radius,  and  if  a circle  of  the  radius  of  the  first  one  is  to  be  drawn  next, 
the  points  must  be  brought  inward  by  closing  the  compass  legs  slightly.  If  the  line  is  ragged  on 
the  outside,  bend  the  pen  leg  inward  about  its  knuckle  joint  to  make  the  outer  nib  touch  the  paper. 
This  may  require  a readjustment  of  the  compass  legs. 

Repeat,  with  ink,  all  the  circles  which  were  drawn  in  pencil,  studying  each  ink  circle,  as  it  is 
made,  in  connection  with  Fig.  17. 

Practice  with  the  pen  set  for  medium,  heavy,  and  fine  lines.  Make  circumferences  with  dash, 
dot,  and  dash-dot  lines  (Figs.  3,  4,  5,  18). 

Notice  that  the  knuckle  joints  must  be  rebent  for  any  considerable  change  in  circle  radius,  i.  e., 
in  the  distance  between  the  points. 


30 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


§ 7.  Plate  4:  Accurate  Construction. 

60.  To  Construct  the  Square. — Lay  out  the  plate  (48-50).  Sharpen  the  pencil  (17). 
The  pencil  lines  should  be  as  fine  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them  and  have  them  distinct  by 
diffused  light.  The  determined  points  should  be  marked  lightly  with  the  needle-point,  and  a 
small  circle  be  drawn  with  pencil  around  each,  that  it  may  be  quickly  found  when  wanted. 
Break  the  pencil  lines  at  these  circles.  See  Fig.  12. 

The  four  corners  of  the  inner  rectangle  are  named  fghi  as  in  Fig.  2. 

Now  look  at  Fig.  12.  On  the  line  ih  from  i lay  off  ij  = Mark  j.  At  j draw  the  ver- 
tical jl.  Lay  off  jk  = Mark  k.  Lay  off  jl  = 7f".  Mark  1.  kl  is  the  left  side  of  the  required 
square  jlmn. 

Here  insert  a piece  of  HHHHHH  lead  in  the  pencil-point  of  the  compass,  and  sharpen  it 
to  a chisel-point,  the  edge  of  which  is  tangent  to  the  circle  to  be  drawn.  The  finest  hair  lines 
only,  are  to  be  drawn  with  the  compass,  which  requires  that  the  chisel-point  be  kept  sharp,  and 
that  the  lines  be  drawn  with  little  or  no  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  the  pencil-point  during  the 
rotation  of  the  compass. 

Construct  the  square  thus  : With  the  center  k,  radius  4|",  draw  a very  fine  pencil  arc  CD 
with  the  compass.  With  center  1,  and  with  exactly  the  same  radius  as  before,  draw  arc  EF  cut- 
ting CD  at  G.  With  the  pencil  draw  a small  free-hand  circle  about  G.  With  centers  k and  1,  with 
the  radii  = 7",  draw  the  arcs  HJ  and  KL,  which  intersect  in  point  t.  Draw  a line  precisely 
through  G and  t.  The  line  Gt  bisects  the  line  kl  and  is  perpendicular  to  it  at  the  point  M. 
Ml  should  equal  Mk.  If  it  does  not,  the  work  is  inaccurate  and  must  be  repeated. 


A COURSE  IN  LINEAR  DRAWING. 


31 


With  center  M,  radius  = Mk,  with  the  compass  draw  pencil  arc  cutting  Mt  in  the  point  o. 
o is  the  center  of  the  square  jlmn. 

Draw  the  diagonals  Ion  and  kom.  From  o as  center,  with  radius  = ok,  describe  an  arc 
cutting  Ion  at  n.  Similarly  find  m.  Draw  kn,  nm,  and  ml,  thus  completing  the  square. 
The  sides  of  the  square  should  be  equal.  If  they  are  not,  the  work  must  be  repeated. 

61.  To  Bisect  an  Angle  and  To  Inscribe  a Circle. — With  compass,  with  radius 
= 4^",  and  with  k as  center,  draw  arc  uv,  cutting  ko  at  u and  kn  at  v.  From  u and  V as 
centers,  with  radii  = 2|",  draw  two  arcs  to  intersect  in  the  point  w.  Line  wk  bisects  angle 
okn.  Similarly  construct  the  bisector  ox  of  angle  kon.  Bisectors  wk  and  ox  intersect  at  x. 

From  x as  a center  inscribe  a circle  in  the  triangle.  For  the  final  adjustment  of  the  com- 
pass opening,  use  the  hair-spring  adjustment.  In  the  same  way  inscribe  a circle  in  each  of  the 
three  remaining  triangles. 

Each  circle  should  be  precisely  tangent  to  the  three  sides  of  its  triangle.  If  any  circle  is 
not  so  tangent,  the  work  of  finding  the  circle  center  must  be  repeated. 

Join  the  circle  centers  x,  y,  z and  A by  straight  lines  to  form  a square.  With  o as 
center  inscribe  a circle  in  this  square.  If  this  circle  is  not  precisely  tangent  to  the  four  sides  of 
the  square,  the  whole  figure  must  be  repeated. 

62.  To  Divide  a Line  Into  Equal  Parts. — Parallel  to  and  Y to  the  right  of  mn  draw 
ps.  Parallel  to  and  Y to  the  left  of  gh  draw  rq.  Prolong  lm  to  meet  ps  in  s and  qr  in  r. 

Divide  pq  into  5 equal  parts.  To  do  this  measure  with  the  scale  the  distance  pq.  Di- 
vide this  distance  by  5,  and  open  the  bow  divider  (Fig.  24)  to  take  in  on  the  scale  this  quotient. 
Now  begin  at  p and  step  off  carefully  (without  pricking  the  paper)  toward  q with  the  bow  divider 
set  as  above,  5 steps.  If  the  last  step  ends  precisely  at  q,  the  divider  has  the  proper  opening.  If 


32 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 

the  last  step  over-reaches  or  falls  short  of  q,  change  the  wicith  of  divider  opening  by  means  of  the 
adjusting  screw  by  one-fifth  of  the  discrepancy.  Step  off  the  distance  pq  with  the  new  opening.  If 
there  is  still  a discrepancy,  readjust  for  one-fifth  of  it.  This  must  be  continued  till  there  is  no 
discrepancy.  When  the  divider  , is  finally  set  to  exactly  one-fifth  pq,  the  stepping  is  repeated  and 
the  end  of  each  step  is  marked  by  a prick  mark  or  pencil  mark.  Mark  the  points  of  division 
with  great  precision. 

Similarly  divide  ps  into  7 equal  parts. 

Through  the  points  of  division  on  pq  draw  (with  very  sharp  pencil)  lines  parallel  to  ps 
(see  Fig.  21). 

Through  the  points  of  division  on  ps  draw  lines  parallel  to  pq. 

These  two  sets  of  lines  cut  the  rectangle  pqrs  into  equal  rectangles. 

Now  draw  straight  lines  to  join  points  of  division  on  the  four  sides  of  the  rectangle  pqrs, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  12.  The  lines  form  the  diagonals  of  the  small  rectangles.  The  diagonals 
should  cut  precisely  the  corners  of  the  rectangles.  If  they  do  not,  the  work  must  be  repeated. 

63.  To  Ink  Plate  4. — Set  the  ruling-pen  for  fine  lines  (Fig.  5)  before  filling  it  with 
ink.  Set  the  nibs  to  give  the  smallest  visible  opening ; do  not  make  the  nibs  actually  touch 
each  other.  Fill  the  pen,  and  retrace,  in  the  order  named,  the  following  lines : 

(1)  The  four  sides  of  the  square  klmn. 

(2)  The  two  diagonals,  km  and  In. 

(3)  The  four  equal  circles. 

(4)  The  square  xyzA. 

(5)  The  circle  inscribed  in  the  small  square  xyzA. 

(6)  The  diagonal  lines  of  the  figure  psqr. 


A COURSE  IN  LINEAR  DRAWING. 


33 


(7)  The  vertical  and  horizontal  lines  of  the  figure  psqr.  These  must  not  be  drawn 
crooked  to  pass  through  intermediate  points. 

(8)  The  border  line,  with  pen  opened  to  draw  medium  lines  (Fig.  3). 

Finish  the  plate  (50).  This  plate  is  to  be  repeated  until  it  is  satisfactory. 

§ 8.  Plate  5 : Irregular  Curves. 

64.  To  Use  French  Curve. — On  a piece  of  drafting-paper,  draw  with  a hard  pencil 
some  smooth,  free-hand  curves  or  flourishes  of  any  form,  and  retrace  these  with  a soft  pencil, 
using  the  French  curve  as  a guide.  To  use  this  guide,  find  by  trial  a portion  of  the  guide  that 
will  just  fit  a small  portion  of  the  free-hand  curve  at  one  end,  as  at  ab  in  Fig.  19.  Retrace 
the  segment  ab  with  a soft  pencil,  using  as  a guide  that  portion  of  the  French  curve  which  fits 
the  segment  ab.  Then  seek  that  portion  of  the  French  curve  which  will  fit  the  next  segment 
of  the  free-hand  curve.  This  process  is  continued  till  the  whole  curve  is  retraced. 

In  retracing  a free-hand  curve  with  the  ruling-pen,  the  pen  must  be  twisted  in  the  hand 
as  it  moves  along  the  guide,  in  such  a manner  that  the  axis  of  the  set-screw  is  continuously 
perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  motion.  The  pen  must  be  held  perpendicular  to  the  paper. 

When  drawing  heavy  ink  lines  leave  a minute  break  between  segments,  to  avoid  blots. 
Do  not  use  a blotter  (46).  When  the  ink  is  dry  on  the  segments  they  may  be  joined  with 
lettering-  or  ruling-pen. 

In  order  that  the  curve  may  be  continuous  from  one  segment  to  the  next  through  the 
junction,  it  is  necessary  that  the  tangents  (imaginary)  to  the  two  adjacent  segments  at  the  junc- 
tion point  lie  in  the  same  straight  line  (Fig.  16).  If  these  tangents  do  not  form  one  line 
the  curve  is  broken,  not  continuous. 


34 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


65.  To  Construct  Plate  5. — After  a little  practice  with  the  French  curve,  lay  out 
Plate  5 (48,  49,  50). 

See  Fig.  15.  The  point  n may  be  determined  by  drawing  diagonals  fh  and  ig.  Draw 
lm  and  jk  to  divide  the  rectangle  ifgh  into  four  equal  parts,  and  intersect  at  n. 

Draw  radiating  lines  to  divide  each  quadrant  at  n into  four  equal  parts  (61).  Letter 
the  radiating  lines  as  in  Fig.  15. 

Lay  off  on  ns  from  n the  distance  nl  ==•£".  Make  n2  = §";  n3  = |";  n4  = and  so 
on,  till  the  last  point  falls  outside  of  the  border  line. 

Through  points  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  etc.  draw  very  lightly  with  pencil  a smooth,  free-hand 
curve.  (For  this  it  may  be  helpful  to  draw  pencil  circles,  from  n as  center,  through  the  points 
1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  ...  .) 

With  the  ruling-pen  set  for  medium  lines  (Fig.  3),  retrace  this  curve,  using  the  French 
curve  as  a guide. 

Retrace  border  line,  ifgh.,  with  ruling-pen  set  for  medium  lines. 

If  the  curve  12345  . . . shows  any  or  all  of  the  faults  of  Figs.  8,  9,  10,  11  and  16,  it 
must  be  redrawn. 

Finish  the  plate  (51). 


CHAPTER  III. 


A Course  in  Lettering. 

§ 9.  Required  Work  in  Lettering. 

66.  Materials  Required  for  Lettering. — Use  black,  water-proof  drawing-ink.  For  small 
letters  use  Gillott’s  404  pen,  and  for  large  letters  (as  in  titles)  use  Leonardt’s  506  F or  other  ball- 
pointed  pen.  The  lettering-paper  provided  with  this  book  is  ruled  by  horizontal  lines  1 mm.  (milli- 
meter) apart.  Every  tenth  horizontal  line  (heavy),  beginning  with  the  heavy  line  at  the  top  of  the 
sheet,  is  to  serve  as  top  guide  line  for  a line  of  lettering,  in  all  the  work  up  to  the  first  plate  of  titles. 
I-guides  (72)  are  ruled  for  both  Vertical  and  Inclined  lettering. 

67.  Preliminary  Practice. — Sheet  I.  Read  and  follow  step  by  step  the  directions  given 
in  46  and  73. 

Line  A.  Draw  vertical  strokes  extending  from  guide  3 to  guide  6 (72),  one  after  another, 
to  fill  this  line. 

Line  B.  Draw  vertical  strokes,  each  of  which  begins  at  guide  1 and  ends  at  guide  6. 

Line  C.  Draw  horizontal  strokes  about  3 mm.  long. 

Line  D.  Draw  strokes  3 spaces  high,  standing  on  guide  6,  sloping  45°  to  the  right  (esti- 
mating the  angle). 

Line  E.  Make  45°  strokes  sloping  backward,  5 spaces  high,  and  standing  on  guide  6. 

Line  F.  Draw  o and  0 repeatedly  (74,  78). 


36 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


Line  G.  Draw  the  top  and  bottom  thirds  of  o and  of  0. 

Line  H.  Draw  the  top  and  bottom  thirds  of  o and  0 and  add  a reverse  stroke  to  make  of  each 
fractional  o and  0 an  s and  S respectively  (80). 

The  rest  of  the  sheet  will  be  devoted  to  practising  those  strokes  given  above  which  have  been 
made  with  the  least  success. 

Sheet  II. — Practise  making  the  Vertical  lower-case  letters,  following  carefully  the  directions 
under  §§10  and  11.  Do  not  try  to  make  the  strokes  as  heavy  as  those  in  the  model.  After  a little 
practise  on  the  individual  letters,  print  words  and  thus  fill  out  the  sheet.  Do  not  repeat  a letter  more 
than  six  or  eight  times  consecutively,  but  return  to  it  after  making  others. 

Sheet  III. — Practise  Vertical  capitals,  following  directions  under  §§  10  and  11.  After  becom- 
ing familiar  with  the  individual  letters,  print  words  till  the  sheet  is  finished. 

Sheet  IV. — Practise  Vertical  numerals  (89),  at  first  5 spaces  high,  and  then  3 spaces  high. 
On  the  lower  half  of  the  sheet  practise  fractions  and  mixed  numbers. 

68.  Plates  6 and  7. — For  Plate  6 copy  the  text  in  this  book,  beginning  witlV§  10.  Use 
Vertical  capitals  and  lower-case  letters  as  they  occur  in  the  text.  This  plate  is  to  be  repeated  until 
the  lettering  is  satisfactor}7.  Print  the  plate  number  and  maker’s  name  on  the  lettering  plates  as  on 
the  plates  of  drawing. 

For  Plate  7 copy  the  text  of  this  book,  beginning  with  92.  Use  Vertical  lower-case  letters 
and  capitals  as  they  occur  in  the  text.  Use  figures  for  all  the  numerals.  Repeat  this  plate  till  it  is 
satisfactory. 

69.  Plates  8 to  17:  Titles. — The  following  plates  are  to  consist  of  titles,  one  to  each 
plate.  Use  Vertical  letters  and  follow  the  directions  given  in  § 12.  Make  the  largest  letters  of  each 
title  9 mm.  high,  using  506  F pen.  The  heights  of  letters  in  the  less  important  words,  and  of  the 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


37 


spaces  between  lines,  will  be  determined  as  far  as  possible  by  the  suggestions  given  under  90,  and  the 
Figs.  36,  37,  39.  The  individual  letters  of  each  title  are  to  be  of  the  style  used  on  the  preceding 
lettering  plates.  Each  line  of  a letter  is  to  be  made  with  a single  stroke  of  the  pen.  No  shaded  let- 
ters are  to  be  made. 

Each  title  is  to  be  symmetrically  located  on  the  plate. 

Each  plate  is  to  be  repeated  till  the  work  is  satisfactory  in  all  respects. 

The  text  to  be  used  for  each  title  is  given  below: 

Plate  8.  Winnemucca,  Nevada,  surveyed  by  W.  H.  Olds,  scale  1"— 1000'.  1901. 

Plate  9.  Tail-stock  of  wood-lathe,  scale  &'=¥.  John  Smith. 

Plate  10.  18"  shaft-hanger,  scale  half  size.  August  Green. 

Plate  11.  Pedestal  bearing  of  20"  x 36"  Corliss  engine,  scale  3"=  1'.  Wm.  Allgood. 

Plate  12.  Profile  of  Hale  street  sewer,  between  Jay  street  and  Chase  avenue. 

Plate  13.  South  part  of  Big  Basin  reservation,  Santa  Cruz  County,  California,  surveyed  by 
Thos.  Arnold;  scale  1 inchzr500  feet,  equidistance  10  feet.  1901. 

Plate  14.  Preliminary  survey  Los  Trancos  railroad,  Mayfield  to  Portola,  Santa  Clara  County, 
California;  George  Thompson,  locating  engineer;  scale  1"=200';  contour  interval  5 feet.  1901. 
(This  title  is  to  be  made  as  for  a map  to  be  filed  in  the  Chief  Engineer’s  office.) 

Plate  15.  (This  title  is  to  read  the  same  as  that  for  Plate  14,  but  is  to  be  printed  on  this  plate 
as  for  a map  to  be  filed  with  a public  officer.) 

Plate  16.  Nevada  & Colorado  railroad;  wooden  trestle  over  Humboldt  river;  scale  l"r=4'.  1901. 

Plate  17.  Proposed  water  supply  system  for  Banning,  Cal.;  location  and  sizes  of  mains; 
Chauncey  Monday,  Civil  Engineer  ; scale  1"— 400'.  1900. 


38 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


70.  Final  Work  on  Plates. — Cover-Plates. — Layout  a plate  on  the  white  drawing-paper. 
Ink  the  border  line. 

In  the  middle  of  the  plate  print  “ Linear  Drawing  ” in  the  style  used  for  the  lettering  plates, 
making  the  capitals  9 mm.  (§")  high.  Print  the  name  of  the  draftsman  in  the  same  style  with 
capitals  and  long  lower-case  letters  6 mm.  (£")  high,  within  Y inch  of  the  lower  and  left-hand  edges 
of  the  plate.  Similarly  print  the  date  in  the  lower  right-hand  corner  of  the  plate,  just  above  the 
border  line. 

The  cover-plate  for  the  lettering  plates  is  to  be  lettered  in  every  way  like  that  described  above, 
except  that  “Lettering”  will  take  the  place  of  “ Linear  Drawing.”  The  lettering  cover-plate  will  be 
of  exactly  the  size  of  the  lettering  plates. 

Binding  the  Plates.  — The  plates  of  Linear  Drawing  are  to  be  arranged  in  proper  order,  begin- 
ning with  the  cover-plate,  and  neatly  bound  by  fastening  together  with  McGill  fasteners  at  the  left 
end,  where  is  the  widest  margin.  The  lettering  plates,  including  their  cover-plate,  are  to  be  bound  in 
like  manner. 

§ 10.  Vertical  and  Inclined  Lettering.  Preliminary. 

71.  Directions  of  Letter  Stems  and  Axes. — The  straight  strokes  of  the  letters  a b d h i j 
l m . . . I . . . and  the  long  axes  of  the  letters  o e s o . . . A M V . . . of  the  same  style  are  parallel, 
and  their  common  direction  will  be  referred  to  as  the  I-slant  of  that  style. 

72.  Guide  Lines:  Horizontal  and  I-Guides. — In  Fig.  34  eight  equidistant  horizontal 
guide  lines  have  been  drawn  and  numbered  from  the  top  downward.  Nos.  1 and  6 limit  the  capitals 
and  figures  and  certain  lower-case  letters,  as  b d ...  . Nos.  3 and  6 limit  the  lower-case  letters 
a c e m . . . and  the  bodies  of  b d g . . . . No.  8 limits  the  tails  of  g j p q y.  The  intermediate 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


39 


guides  are  drawn  for  convenience  in  describing  the  details  of  certain  letters.  In  lettering  drawings 
the  draftsman  usually  pencils  only  the  main  guides,  1 3 6.  I-guides  are  those  drawn  to  control  the 
direction  of  those  strokes  which  have  the  I-slant  (71).  I-guides  are  shown  drawn  for  o a b,  Fig.  34 
(left  end)  and  for  a o s in  Fig.  31  (left  end).  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  direction  of  the  I-guide  is  the 
same  as  that  of  the  letter  I for  a given  style  of  lettering.  For  the  Inclined  lettering  discussed  in 
this  book,  I-guides  are  drawn  to  have  a slope  of  2 :5  (2  horizontal  to  5 vertical).  On  the  lettering- 
paper  which  accompanies  this  book  two  sets  of  I-guides  have  been  ruled  for  the  convenience  of  the 
beginner,  one  vertical  and  the  other  with  the  2 :5  slope. 

73.  Individual  Pen  Strokes. — Figs.  30-34.  All  the  strokes  of  each  letter  should  be  of 
the  same  width.  Follow  carefully  the  instructions  under  46.  It  is  a good  plan  to  practise  drawing 
straight  lines  slowly  with  constant  pen  pressure  till  lines  can  be  made  as  uniform  in  width  as  those 
drawn  with  the  ruling-pen.  It  will  be  found  that  even  an  unsteady  hand  can  make  fair  lines  after  a 
little  practice.  Steady  the  pen  if  necessary  by  holding  the  left  hand  on  the  paper  with  the  left  first 
finger  extended  and  pressed  against  the  right  thumb  nail.  Rapid  strokes  are  smoother  but  cannot 
usually  be  controlled  to  correctly  form  the  letters. 

The  order  of  making  the  strokes  of  each  letter  is  given  by  small  numerals,  and  the  direction  of 
each  stroke  is  indicated  by  an  arrow.  Observe  carefully  the  point  of  beginning  and  the  point  of  end- 
ing, as  well  as  the  direction  of  each  stroke  as  it  is  copied,  e.  g.,  the  top  of  the  stem  of  b should  be 
precisely  on  the  top  guide — not  below  it,  not  above  it.  Make  the  top  and  bottom  curved  strokes  of 
letters  precisely  tangent  to  the  proper  guides  : o c e . . . touch,  but  do  not  overlap  their  top  and 
bottom  guides.  Guard  against  ending  a stroke,  as  at  the  bottom  of  c e,  with  a flip  of  the  pen,  as  is 
customary  in  writing. 

Horizontal  and  oblique  strokes  require  more  pains  than  vertical. 


40 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


74.  O as  Model  for  Curve  Forms. — Almost  every  curve  of  the  letters  and  figures  of  the 
Vertical  and  Inclined  styles  of  lettering  may  be  considered  as  embodied  in  the  letter  o or  0 with  very 
little  error  and  with  great  advantage  to  the  beginner  in  the  saving  of  time  and  mental  effort.  This 
letter  should  be  practised  till  it  can  be  well  made  before  the  other  letters  are  taken  up.  In  this  prac- 
tice it  should  be  made  circular.  When  making  a letter  which  involves  a part  of  o (or  0)  so  large  as  to 
require  its  first  being  put  in  with  pencil  (as  in  titles),  it  is  well  to  lightly  pencil  the  whole  o (or  0 ) 
in  order  to  smoothly  connect  the  various  strokes  of  the  letter. 

75.  Differences  Between  Vertical  and  Inclined  Lettering. — These  styles  of  lettering  are 
so  near  alike  in  detail  (their  great  difference  being  due  to  the  difference  in  the  direction  of  their 
I-guides,  72)  that  the  latter  can  with  little  error  be  considered  as  the  former  alphabet  with  its  letters 
canted  over  uniformly.  In  the  following  section  each  numbered  paragraph  starts  off  with  a rather 
full  description  of  a group  of  letters  or  numerals  in  the  Vertical  style.  In  every  case  the  description 
is  to  be  taken  as  applying  to  the  Inclined  style,  except  as  noted  at  the  end  of  the  paragraph  under 
the  sub-head  “Inclined.” 

76.  Widths  of  Letters  and  Figures. — The  beginner  usually  makes  letters  too  narrow.  It 
is  well  to  try  to  make  the  letter  o as  wide  as  high  (circular),  in  practising. 

Taking  the  width  of  o as  unity:  m is  1£,  w is  1£,  r is  f,  t is  f,  and  all  other  lower-case  letters 
(except  i and  l ) are  each  as  wide  as  o. 

Taking  the  width  of  0 as  unity:  A is  I5,  M is  1|,  W is  1|,  J is  5,  and  all  other  capitals  (except 
I ) have  each  the  width  of  0. 

Taking  the  width  of  0 as  unity:  the  width  of  4 is  1^,  and  the  other  numerals  (except  1)  are 
each  as  wide  as  0. 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


41 


These  are  rough  rules,  but  will  be  found  sufficiently  precise  for  freehand  lettering.* 

77.  Spacing  Letters  and  Words. — The  letters  in  a word  should  be  so  spaced  as  to  present 
as  nearly  as  possible  a uniform  distribution  of  black  and  white.  For  all  ordinary  lettering  the 
spacing  is  done  by  the  eye,  which  should  be  trained  by  carefully  studying  the  spacing  of  letters  of 
words  printed  in  large  type,  as  those  on  the  title-page  of  a book. 

In  reading  a book  printed  in  type  to  which  you  are  accustomed,  the  eye  usually  takes  in  a 
number  of  words  at  a glance;  the  longer  the  words  the  smaller  the  batch,  and  an  unfamiliar  word 
may  require  undivided  attention,  but  it  is  seldom  that  the  individual  letters  are  scrutinized.  If  the 
letters  of  a word  are  set  too  far  apart,  a conscious  effort  is  required  to  take  in  the  word  without  noting 
the  individual  letters.  Less  effort  is  wasted  in  reading  words  whose  letters  are  crowded  more  than 
usual.  Beginners  should  try  to  place  the  letters  of  a word  as  near  together  as  is  possible  without  hav- 
ing them  actually  touch,  in  order  to  overcome  their  strong  tendency  to  make  the  letters  too  far  apart. 

A J and  L are  wider  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top,  while  the  reverse  is  true  of  F P T V W and 
Y.  Where  we  have  in  a word  the  pair  AJ  LJ  LA  FV  PV  or  WY  . . . , there  must  be  more  white 
space  between  the  letters  of  the  pair  than  between  two  adjacent  letters  usually.  But  where  there  occurs 
the  pair  FA  VA  LT  . . . , its  two  letters  can  be  interlocked,  the  projecting  part  of  one  encroaching 
on  the  gap  in  the  other.  Notice  in  NEVADA , Fig.  36,  that  the  right  branch  of  V overtops  the  left 
branch  of  A.  If  the  spacing  of  the  letters  in  this  word  had  not  been  done  by  eye,  but  by  alloting  to 
each  letter  the  same  amount  of  space  (as  is  often  done  in  making  titles),  there  would  be  a noticeable 
gap  between  V and  A,  thus:  NEV  ADA.  (See  92  for  method  used  in  constructing  this  title.) 


* For  complete  and  accurate  dimensions  of  the  letters  of  several  styles  of  alphabets  the  reader  is  referred  to  Jacoby’s 
“Plain  Lettering”  ( Engineering  News , N.  Y.,  $3). 


42 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


The  distance  between  words  in  a sentence  should  be  the  width  of  o for  lower-case  and  0 
for  capital  letters,  but  these  distances  may  be  increased  to  a certain  extent  in  a title. 

§ 11.  Details  of  Letter  Construction. 

78.  Details  of  Lower-Case  o.  Vertical. — Fig.  34.  This  letter  may  be  made  with  one 
stroke,  beginning  and  ending  at  the  top,  but  usually  it  is  best  to  make  it  in  two  strokes,  as 
shown.  Unite  the  two  strokes  carefully,  to  avoid  blots  at  the  joints.  The  long  axis  of  o has  the 
I-slant  (71).  When  about  to  make  o with  a pencil,  pencil  lightly  an  I-guide  (72)  for  its  axis. 
The  width  of  o should  usually  be  taken  slightly  less  than  its  height  (76). 

Inclined. — Fig.  31.  The  above  description  applies  to  the  inclined  o,  remembering  that  for 
this  style  the  I-guide  is  inclined  instead  of  vertical. 

79.  Details  of  a b d g p q.  Vertical. — Figs.  33,  34.  Each  of  these  letters  consists 
of  the  letter  o (78)  and  an  I-slant  (71)  stem,  which  in  the  case  of  g turns  to  the  left  at  guide  7 
(72)  to  form  a curve  one  space  high,  like  the  bottom  of  o.  The  beginner  should  make  the  o 
first  and  add  the  stem  till  he  can  fairly  form  each  letter,  after  which  he  will  in  the  case  of  b 
and  p make  the  stem  first.  The  o-portion  of  each  letter  should  be  made  nearly  as  wide  as 
high  ; and  if  the  beginner  has  the  common  tendency  to  make  these  letters  too  narrow,  he  should 
overcome  it  by  trying  to  make  them  too  wide  for  a time.  These  letters  may  be  made  with  the 
o-axis  inclined  to  the  right,  thus  : o. 

Inclined. — Fig.  31.  The  above,  with  the  exception  of  the  last  sentence,  applies  to  Inclined 
lettering.  However,  the  Inclined  letters  will  be  more  satisfactory  if  the  axis  of  the  o-part  of 
each  has  a slant  of  45°  instead  of  the  I-slant  (71)  ; and  b and  p are  further  improved  by  omit- 
ting the  extreme  left  point  of  the  o-part. 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


43 


80.  Details  of  c e s.  Vertical. — Figs.  33,  34.  c is  o with  a gap  in  its  right  side. 
The  beginning  of  the  stroke  extends  farther  than  the  end,  to  the  right,  c may  be  made  in  two 
strokes  or  in  three,  as  well  as  in  one ; but  whatever  the  number,  each  stroke  must  be  made 
throughout  its  length  with  deliberation. 

For  e make  c with  the  right  upper  part  produced  down  to  the  horizontal  stroke,  which  is 
added  at  the  mid-height  of  the  letter.  A variation  in  the  position  of  the  cross-bar  is  shown  in 
e of  Fig.  31. 

The  top  and  bottom  of  s are  like  the  corresponding  parts  of  o.  The  reverse  curve  is 
drawn  to  smoothly  connect  the  top  and  bottom  curves,  and  pass  a little  above  the  center  of  the 
letter,  which  otherwise  will  look  top-heavy.  The  order  of  strokes  should  be  that  which  produces 
the  best  s.  In  capital  S (Fig.  33)  another  order  of  strokes  is  indicated.  A third  order  is  : Re- 
verse curve  first;  top,  second;  and  bottom,  last.  A fourth  method  of  construction  is:  Make  top 
curve  and  upper  half  of  reverse  curve  with  one  stroke;  imagine  (or  draw,  if  using  pencil)  an 
I-guide  (72)  passing  through  the  lower  end  of  the  stroke  just  made  ; and  beginning  at  this  point, 
finish  the  letter  with  one  stroke  so  made  as  to  balance  on  the  I-guide. 

Inclined. — Figs.  30,  31.  The  above  applies  to  c e s.  It  is  usual  to  make  the  bar  of  e oblique. 

81.  Details  of  h m n r u.  Vertical. — Figs.  33,  34.  h is  like  n except  that  the  first 
stroke  of  h.  extends  to  the  top  guide,  m is  like  n with  its  curve  and  right,  straight  stroke 
repeated.  The  letter  is  improved  by  having  the  curves  made  sharper,  giving  a narrower  letter 
(76).  For  n make  the  left  stroke,  giving  it  the  I-slant  (71);  then  draw  the  curve  as  if  for  the 
upper  half  of  o (with  I-slant  axis)  ; and  add  the  short  stroke  parallel  to  the  first,  joining  it 
smoothly  with  the  curve.  After  a little  practice  the  curve  and  short  stroke  may  be  combined  in 
one,  but  bear  in  mind  while  making  this  that  there  are  two  distinct  portions,  a curve  and  a 


44 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


straight  line,  with  a fixed  point  of  tangency.  It  is  a good  plan  to  stop  the  pen  momentarily 
at  the  end  of  the  curve  before  going  on  with  the  straight  line,  otherwise  the  right  side  of  the 
letter  is  apt  to  be  a weak  curve,  r is  like  n omitting  the  right  down  stroke,  u may  be  con- 
sidered as  two  strokes  (having  the  I-slant)  smoothly  connected  by  a curve  which  is  the  lower  half 
of  o ; but  it  will  be  found  easier  to  flatten  the  curve,  bringing  the  straight  strokes  down  a little  • 
farther,  as  shown  in  Fig.  33. 

In  making  h m n r care  should  be  taken  that  the  curve  leaves  the  first  stroke  without 
filling  the  notch  with  ink.  This  may  be  avoided  by  flattening  the  curve,  so  that  it  leaves  the 
first  stroke  sharply  instead  of  at  a tangent. 

Inclined. — Figs.  30,  31.  The  preceding  applies  to  this  style  of  letter. 

82.  Details  of  f i j 1 t.  Vertical. — Figs.  34,  33.  f is  formed  by  adding  a short  curve  to 
the  top  of  t.  When  the  top  curve  and  stem  are  made  at  one  stroke,  stop  the  pen  for  an  instant 
at  the  end  of  the  curve  on  the  second  guide  to  get  a fresh  start  on  the  straight  part,  and  thus 
avoid  a crooked  stem,  i has  the  I-slant  (71).  The  dot  is  a very  short  dash  placed  on  guide 
2 and  in  the  prolongation  of  the  stem.  To  make  j,  continue  the  stem  of  i downward  one  space, 
and  add  a curve  like  the  bottom  of  o to  occupy  the  bottom  space.  If  the  letter  be  made  in  one 
stroke,  it  is  well  to  guard  against  making  a crooked  stem  by  stopping  the  pen  for  a moment  at 
the  beginning  of  the  curve.  1 is  straight,  begins  at  the  top  guide,  and  has  the  I-slant.  The 
stem  of  t is  straight,  has  the  I-slant,  and,  unlike  any  other  letter,  begins  on  guide  2.  The  cross- 
piece should  be  a full- width  stroke,  without  blot,  truly  horizontal,  and  with  its  upper  edge  pre- 
cisely on  guide  3.  It  is  well  to  let  the  main  stroke  dry  before  putting  on  the  second,  if  a blot 
cannot  otherwise  be  avoided. 

Inclined. — Figs.  31,  30.  The  foregoing  description  applies  also  to  this  style. 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


45 


83.  Details  of  k v w x y z.  Vertical. — Figs.  32,  33,  34.  For  k take  care  to  make  the 
second  and  third  strokes  straight,  of  full  width,  and  without  blots  at  the  meeting  points.  The 
second  stroke  meets  the  first  at  guide  5 and  makes  with  it  a 45°  angle;  and  the  third  meets  the 
second  at  guide  4.  The  two  strokes  of  v make  equal  angles  with  an  I-guide  (72)  through  their 
point  of  meeting,  and  their  axes  should  meet  precisely  on  guide  6 that  the  point  of  the  letter 
may  be  neither  wider  nor  narrower  than  a single  stroke.  When  a v of  large  size  is  to  be  made, 
follow  directions  given  for  capital  V (88).  w is  formed  of  two  rather  narrow  v’s.  Make  strokes 
2 and  3 meet  as  neatly  as  strokes  1 and  2.  For  y make  v and  prolong  its  right  side  to  guide 
7,  and  add  a flat  curve  tangent  to  the  stem  and  to  guide  8.  The  two  strokes  of  x make,  with  the 
I-guide  through  the  center  of  the  letter,  equal  angles  a little  larger  than  the  corresponding  angles 
of  v.  It  requires  some  special  effort  to  put  in  the  second  stroke  without  blotting  the  first  at  the 
meeting  point.  If  this  cannot  be  done,  the  second  stroke  can  be  added  after  the  first  has  dried) 
or  a break  may  be  made  in  the  second  stroke  just  sufficient  to  clear  the  first,  z is  shown  made 
with  three  strokes.  Strokes  1 and  2 should  be  truly  horizontal,  of  full  width,  and  without  ragged 
edges,  and  the  third  stroke  should  meet  these  sharply.  After  enough  practice  the  letter  may  be 
made  with  one  stroke,  but  at  the  risk  of  picking  up  paper  fibres  at  the  turns  and  thus  blotting 
the  notches. 

Inclined. — Figs.  30,  31.  The  foregoing  description  applies  here. 

84.  Details  of  Capitals  O Q.  Vertical. — Fig.  33.  O is  best  made  in  two  strokes,  which 
must  be  smoothly  joined.  The  letter  is  symmetrical  with  respect  to  an  I-guide  (72)  through  its 
center.  Q is  formed  by  adding  the  short  oblique  stroke  cutting  the  lower  right  quarter  of  O. 

Inclined. — Figs.  30,  31.  The  preceding  description  applies  to  this  style. 

85.  Details  of  C D G J S U Vertical. — Figs.  34,  33.  C is  similar  to  lower-case  c 


46 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


(78).  The  right  side  of  D is  the  right  stroke  of  O,  and  is  connected  by  short  horizontal  strokes 
to  the  first  stroke,  which  has  the  I-slant  (71).  Though  better  made  distinct  at  first  to  impress 
the  student  with  the  correct  form  of  the  letter,  the  three  strokes  2,  3,  4 are  usually  combined  in 
one  by  a skilful  letterer,  who  nevertheless  must  think  of  the  strokes  as  three  while  he  is  making 
them  as  one.  To  form  G:  make  the  first  stroke  as  for  O;  the  second  stroke  begins  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  I-slant  axis,  of  the  letter  and  guide  3,  extends  horizontally  half  the  width  of  the  letter,  and 
turns  sharply  downward  to  form  the  right  lower  quarter  of  O.  J consists  of  a stem  having  the  I-slant 
which  connects  smoothly  at  guide  5 with  a curve  which  is  tangent  to  guide  6 and  rises  to 
guide  5.  S and  U are  respectively  similar  to  s (78)  and  u (79). 

Inclined. — Figs.  30,  31.  The  foregoing  description  applies  here. 

86.  Details  of  B P R.  Vertical. — Figs.  33,  34.  Putting  in  a third  horizontal  stroke  at 
the  bottom  and  a (slightly  larger)  second  half-o  below  the  first,  converts  P into  B.  The  curve  of 
P is  the  right  half  of  lower-case  o,  and  is  smoothly  connected  to  the  I-slant  stem  by  two  short, 
horizontal  strokes.  It  is  helpful  to  make  the  short  strokes  separately  as  shown;  though  the  letter 
can  be  well  made  by  combining  the  last  three  strokes  in  one  if  mentally  they  are  kept  distinct. 
R is  made  by  adding  an  oblique  stroke  to  P at  the  right  end  of  stroke  3. 

Inclined. — Figs.  31,  30.  The  foregoing  description  applies  here. 

87.  Details  of  E F H I L T.  Vertical. — Figs.  33,  34.  In  these  letters  special  pains 
must  be  taken  with  the  horizontal  strokes.  Add  a horizontal  stroke  at  the  bottom  of  F to  form  E. 
The  top  stroke  is  slightly  shorter  than  the  bottom  The  lower  horizontal  stroke  of  F is  shorter 
than  the  other  by  a third,  and  lies  a little  below  guide  3.  The  horizontal  stroke  of  H is  just  above 
the  center.  I is  a single  stroke  whose  direction  is  called  the  I-slant  (71)  of  this  style  of  lettering. 
To  avoid  mistakes  where  I might  otherwise  be  taken  for  lower-case  1 or  the  numeral  1,  add 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


47 


very  short,  horizontal  strokes  to  I at  top  and  bottom,  as  in  ordinary  print.  Add  a horizontal 
stroke  to  the  right  of  the  bottom  of  I to  form  L.  The  horizontal  stroke  of  T is  bisected  by  the 
I-slant  stem. 

Inclined. — Figs.  30,  31.  The  preceding  description  applies  here. 

88.  Details  of  A K M N V W X Y Z.  Vertical. — Figs.  33,  34.  Special  pains  must 
be  taken  to  make  all  the  horizontal  and  oblique  strokes  straight  and  full  width,  and  to  give 
each  its  correct  direction.  The  two  sides  of  A make  equal  angles  with  the  I-guide  through  the 
peak.  Make  a dot  for  the  bottom  of  each  side  stroke.  Imagine  (or  draw,  if  working  with 
pencil)  an  I-guide  (72)  midway  between  these  dots.  Draw  the  side  strokes  toward  the  two  dots 
from  the  intersection  of  the  I-guide  with  the  top  horizontal  guide.  The  third  stroke  is  just  be- 
low guide  4.  In  K stroke  2 meets  stroke  1 at  guide  4 ; stroke  3 meets  stroke  2 at  guide  3. 
Stroke  3 extends  to  the  right  farther  than  stroke  2.  For  M make  the  two  I-slant,  side  strokes ; 
midway  between  these  and  on  guide  5 place  a dot,  toward  which  draw  the  sloping  strokes.  M is 
one-fifth  wider  than  O (84).  In  N take  pains  to  have  the  third  stroke  axis  straight  and  cutting 
the  side-stroke  axes  precisely  on  guides  1 and  6.  The  method  given  for  constructing  A applies 
to  V.  W consists  of  two  rather  narrow  V’s.  X is  similar  to  x (81).  If  making  the  letter 
with  a pencil,  first  draw  an  I-guide  through  the  letter  center  by  which  to  gage  the  slopes  of  the 
strokes  ; or  draw  the  two  sides  of  the  quadrilateral  which  encloses  the  letter  space,  and  draw  the 
strokes  as  diagonals  of  this  figure.  The  top  branches  of  Y make  equal  angles  with  the  stem, 
which  has  the  I-slant  (71),  and  meet  it  slightly  above  guide  4.  Z is  similar  to  z (81). 

Inclined. — Figs.  30,  31.  The  foregoing  description  serves  here  also. 

89.  Numerals  and  Fractions.  Vertical. — Figs.  33,  34.  Numerals  are  of  the  same  height 
as  capitals  except  when  occurring  in  simple  fractions.  Zero  is  the  same  as  capital  O.  The  figure 


48 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


1 is  a straight,  I-slant  line  usually,  but  a short  slanting  stroke  is  added  at  the  left  of  the  top 
when  it  might  otherwise  be  taken  for  capital  I or  lower-case  1.  The  loops  of  2 3 5 are  prefer- 
ably portions  of  the  lower-case  o,  though  they  are  also  shown  as  portions  of  an  o whose  axis 
has  a 45°  slant.  The  loop  of  2 is  also  shown  as  based  on  the  upper  loop  of  8.  The  left  stroke 
of  6 and  the  right  of  9 are  respectively  the  left  and  right  halves  of  O.  The  right  stroke  of  6 
and  the  left  of  9 are  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  Vertical  lower-case  o.  These  figures  are  also 
shown  with  the  axis  of  the  loop  tilted  45°  to  the  right.  8 may  be  considered  as  two  Vertical, 
lower-case  o’s,  one  above  the  other,  the  lower  slightly  larger  than  the  upper ; or  as  the  letter  S 
with  the  left  and  right  openings  closed.  The  bottom  of  the  7 is  on  the  I-guide  which  passes 
through  the  middle  of  the  upper  stroke. 

The  denominator  and  numerator  of  a fraction  are  each  as  high  as  the  lower-case  o.  The 
numerator  stands  on  guide  3 and  extends  one  space  above  the  top  guide.  The  denominator  ex- 
tends from  guide  4 to  guide  7.  The  bar  between  numerator  and  denominator  should  be  a full- 
width  stroke,  truly  horizontal,  and  midway  between  guides  3 and  4. 

Inclined. — Figs.  31,  33.  The  preceding  description  applies  here. 

§ 12.  Titles. 

90.  Arrangement  and  Proportions  of  Parts  of  a Title. — The  title  of  almost  any  text- 
book furnishes  a model  for  the  arrangement  and  relative  proportions  of  the  various  parts  of  a title. 
The  relative  prominence  of  the  parts  of  a title  of  a working  drawing  should  correspond  to  their  rela- 
tive importance  to  those  by  whom  chiefly  the  drawing  is  to  be  used.  The  most  prominent  words 
should  be  those  which  will  most  probably  be  held  in  mind  by  the  chief  user  when  searching  for  this 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


49 


drawing.  Figs.  36,  37,  and  39  show  three  simple  titles.  At  the  side  of  each  are  small  numerals  and 
brackets  which  give  the  relative  heights  of  letters  and  distances  between  lines  of  letters.  Beginning 
at  the  top,  Fig.  36:  “ Winnemucca  ” is  3 units  high  ; the  space  between  “Winnemucca”  and  “Nevada” 
is  2 units  ; “ Nevada  ” is  2 units  high  ; the  space  below  “ Nevada  ” is  3 units,  and  so  on. 

91.  Common  Faults  in  Titles  Made  by  Beginners. — The  beginner  is  apt  to  produce 
titles  which  have  one  or  more  of  the  following  faults: 

(1)  The  heights  of  letters  in  the  different  parts  of  the  title  are  incorrectly  proportioned. 

(2)  The  spaces  between  horizontal  lines  of  letters  are  not  well  proportioned  as  to  each  other 
and  as  to  the  letter  heights. 

(3)  The  paper  surface  is  injured,  so  as  to  make  neat  ink  lines  impossible,  by  indenting  the 
paper  with  the  pencil,  and  by  the  hard  erasing  which  is  necessary  to  remove  such  heavy-handed 
pencil  work. 

(4)  The  horizontal  lines  of  letters  are  not  centered  on  the  vertical  center  line  which  has 
been  penciled. 

(5)  The  spacing  of  letters  in  words,  or  the  spacing  of  words,  is  incorrect. 

(6)  Individual  letters  are  incorrect : (a)  stems  of  letters  are  not  made  all  precisely  vertical  (for 
upright  lettering)  or  of  the  same  slant  (for  inclined  lettering);  ( b ) strokes  which  ought  to  be  truly 
horizontal  are  not  so  made  ; (c)  individual  strokes  are  made  with  varying  pen  pressure;  different 
strokes  of  a letter  are  made  of  different  thicknesses;  and  some  letters  are  made  heavier  than  others. 

As  a rule  the  student’s  titles  are  less  satisfactory  than  his  ordinary  lettering,  because  long 
strokes  are  harder  to  make  than  medium  ones,  and  imperfections  which  are  barely  noticeable  in 
medium  letters  may  be  prominent  in  large  ones.  Also  it  will  be  found  more  difficult  to  make  very 
small  letters  than  medium-sized  ones  of  the  same  quality. 


50 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


92.  To  Construct  a Title. — (1)  Write  out  the  title,  grouping  the  words  as  they  are  to 
appear  on  the  drawing  (106). 

(2)  Decide  on  the  position  which  the  title  is  to  take  on  the  drawing  (106). 

(3)  Draw  a vertical  line  through  the  middle  of  this  space  with  a sharp  6-H  pencil. 

(4)  Decide  on  the  height  of  the  letters  to  be  used  in  the  principal  word  or  words  of  the  title 
(106).  From  this  height  determine  the  heights  for  the  letters  in  the  other  words,  and  the  widths  of 
spaces  between  horizontal  lines  of  letters.  Lay  off  these  distances  in  proper  order  on  the  center  line, 
to  determine  the  positions  of  the  horizontal  guide  lines  (72),  which  are  now  to  be  drawn  lightly  with 
a sharp  6-H  pencil  (Fig.  36).  If  necessary  for  the  proper  proportioning  of  the  individual  letters,  draw 
intermediate  guide  lines  (Fig.  31). 

Also  rule  lightly  in  pencil,  across  the  spaces  which  are  allotted  to  the  lines  of  lettering,  a series 
of  vertical  lines  (if  for  Vertical  lettering)  or  slant  lines  (if  for  Inclined  lettering).  These  lines  may  be 
spaced  by  e}re  somewhat  less  than  one  inch  apart. 

(5)  Near  and  parallel  to  the  edge  of  a piece  of  writing-paper,  rule  two  pencil  lines  spaced 
apart  the  height  of  the  letters  in  the  first  line  of  the  title.  (Time  will  be  saved  by  cutting  a sheet  of 
ruled  lettering-paper  into  strips  for  this  purpose.)  Using  these  lines  as  guides,  print  with  pencil  the 
letters  of  the  first  line  of  the  title,  giving  special  attention  only  to  the  widths  of  letters  and  of  the 
spaces  between  them  (76,  77).  The  proportioning  of  letters  and  spaces  is  done  here  by  eye  for  letters 
of  ordinary  size. 

Mark  the  middle  point  of  this  line  of  letters. 

Place  this  paper  on  the  title  space  so  that  the  marked  middle  point  of  the  line  of  printed  letters 
is  on  the  vertical  center  line  of  the  title,  and  the  line  of  printed  letters  lies  just  above  the  guide  lines 
drawn  for  them  on  the  title  space. 


A COURSE  IN  LETTERING. 


51 


(6)  With  pencil  not  too  sharp,  and  pressed  very  lightly  on  the  paper,  begin  at  the  left  end 
and  copy,  printing  each  letter  vertically  below  its  model.  Give  attention  to  the  details  as  well  as  to 
the  spacing  of  the  letters.  (Direction  6 may  be  omitted  by  good  letterers  on  small  letters.) 

(7)  Proceed  as  above  in  constructing  each  of  the  succeeding  lines. 

(8)  Correct  any  apparent  imperfections  in  the  lettering. 

(9)  If  the  desired  thickness  of  the  lines  of  a letter  can  be  made  with  one  stroke  of  the  letter- 
ing-pen, without  undue  spreading  of  the  nibs,  the  penciled  letters  may  be  retraced  at  once  in  ink  with 
the  lettering-pen  (46,  §§  10,  11). 

(10)  If  the  lines  of  some  of  the  letters  are  to  be  heavier  than  can  be  well  made  with  one 
stroke  of  the  bluntest  pen  at  hand,  outline  these  letters  with  pencil.  With  a medium  lettering-pen, 
retrace  the  outline  in  ink.  Then  erase  (after  the  ink  outlines  are  thoroughly  dry)  the  pencil  lines  in 
the  vicinity  of  these  outlined  letters.  Fill  in  the  outlines  with  ink,  using  a small  water-color  brush 
or  very  blunt  pen  which  is  manipulated  so  as  to  barely  touch  the  paper. 

If,  in  filling  an  outline,  too  much  ink  drops  from  the  pen  at  any  part  of  a letter,  the  surplus  is 
removed  by  deftly  touching  it  with  the  tip  of  a small  piece  torn  from  the  corner  of  a blotter. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Introduction  to  Drafting. 

§ 13.  The  Paper  and  the  Scale. 

93.  Drafting  consists  in  combining  lines  and  letters  to  represent  objects  and  operations. 
It  is  necessary  to  give  as  much  attention  to  each  line  of  the  drawing  of  an  object,  after  its  posi- 
tion has  been  determined,  as  was  given  to  drawing  the  individual  lines  of  Plates  1,  2,  3,  4 and 
5.  It  is  important  that  the  student  constantly  review  and  act  upon  the  suggestions  given  in  the 
first  three  chapters  until  he  properly  cares  for  and  correctly  uses  his  instruments  and  materials 
through  force  of  habit. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  make  a good  engineering  drawing  of  an  object,  it  is  necessary  to 
have,  besides  skill  in  making  lines  and  letters,  some  acquaintance  with  common  drafting 
practice  and  an  engineering  knowledge  of  the  object.  This  chapter  is  devoted  to  a few  of  the 
usages  and  conventionalities  of  drafting. 

94.  Choice  of  Paper. — Engineering  drawings  are,  for  most  part,  of  two  classes: 
(1)  drawings  which  either  are  not  to  be  duplicated,  or  are  to  be  duplicated  by  means  of  some 
photographic  process ; (2)  drawings  which  are  to  be  duplicated  by  tracing  and  blue-printing. 

(1)  Drawing-paper  is  used  for  the  first  class.  Hot-pressed  paper  is  used  for  fine-line  draw- 
ings ; cold-pressed  is  used  for  the  ordinary  range  of  lines,  as  in  topographic  mapping.  The 
rough-grained  surface  is  used  for  large-scale,  heavy-line  work.  Both  medium  and  rough  surfaces 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


53 


are  suitable  for  water-color  drawing  (for  which  the  paper  must  be  stretched,  as  explained  in  97). 
Wall  maps,  record  maps,  and  all  drawings  of  this  class  which  are  intended  for  severe  use,  should 
be  drawn  on  mounted  paper. 

(2)  In  some  offices  simple  drawings  are  penciled  directly  on  the  tracing-cloth  and  then 
inked.  Commonly,  detail-paper  is  used  for  the  original  pencil  drawing,  from  which  a tracing 
is  made. 

95.  To  Draw  to  Scale. — The  scale  of  a drawing  is  the  relation  between  distances  on 
the  drawing  and  the  corresponding  dimensions  of  the  object.  Thus  we  say  the  scale  of  a certain 
map  is  24^5o  (called  a representative  fraction),  or  1"  = 200',  or  200  feet  to  an  inch.  Of  a certain 
machine  drawing  we  say  the  scale  is  \"=  T;  of  another,  the  scale  is  §"=.l';  and  so  on.  For  the 
plot  of  a survey  made  for  engineering  purposes,  a unit  space  (30)  on  the  paper  represents  some 
multiple  of  ten  feet  on  the  ground.  That  is,  the  scale  of  a map  is  usually  1=10',  100',  or 
1000',  etc;  1"  = 20',  200',  or  2000',  etc.;  or  1"=  30',  300',  or  3000',  etc.;  and  so  on.  Every  unit 
space  on  the  engineer’s  scale  is  subdivided  into  10  equal  parts.  Every  tenth  line  is  numbered, 
beginning  with  the  first,  which  bears  the  number  0 (zero).  Fig.  45  should  be  studied  in  con- 
nection -with  the  engineer’s  triangular  scale  (30). 

On  a structural  or  machine  drawing,  each  unit  space  represents  1'  on  the  object.  The 
length  of  each  unit  (30)  on  an  architect’s  scale  is  given  by  the  number  printed  in  large  figures 
under  the  initial  unit,  which  alone  is  subdivided  into  twelve  equal  parts.  The  unit  spaces  are 
numbered  as  shown  in  Fig.  46,  which  should  be  carefully  studied. 

The  scale  of  a map  should  always  be  stated  (as  in  Fig.  36),  or  shown  by  a drawn  scale, 
together  with  the  representative  fraction  (Fig.  49),  or  both.  On  a small-scale  map  it  is  well  to 
draw  also  a scale  of  miles  in  the  title  space.  For  a working  drawing  it  is  customary  to  simply 
state  the  scale,  thus:  Scale:  -|"=  T;  or  to  omit  the  scale  altogether. 


54 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


96.  To  Cut  the  Paper  . — In  the  drafting-room  of  a machine  shop  or  bridge  shop  nearly 
all  the  drawings  are  made  on  a few  sizes  of  paper  which  are  fixed  (usually  on  the  basis  of  con- 
venient filing)  by  the  chief  engineer  or  chief  draughtsman.  Students’  drawings  are,  for  the 
most  part,  made  on  a few  designated  sizes  of  paper.  For  certain  classes  of  work  it  is  imprac- 
ticable to  keep  on  hand  enough  sizes  of  sheets  to  accommodate  the  required  drawings ; and  for 
each  drawing  the  paper  is  cut  from  a roll.  The  drawing  may  be  made  on  an  ample  portion 
of  the  roll  paper,  which  has  been  unrolled  (but  not  cut  off)  and  tacked  on  the  board.  After  this 
the  border  and  cutting  lines  are  located  and  ruled,  and  the  sheet  cut.  This  is  inconvenient 
and  wasteful  of  paper.  Usually  a piece  is  cut  from  the  roll  of  paper  before  the  drawing  is 

begun.  In  this  case  it  is  necessary  to  know  beforehand  what  will  be  the  length  and  breadth  of 

the  finished  drawing.  For  structures  and  machines  there  is  usually  no  trouble  in  finding  the 

extreme  height  and  length  (or  width)  of  the  object  or  part  to  be  shown. 

For  a map,  the  required  size  of  the  paper  may  be  determined  by  one  of  the  following 
methods:  First  Method. — Compute  the  co-ordinates  of  the  limiting  points  of  the  area  to  be 
mapped,  using  preferably  north  and  south  and  east  and  west  axes  so  chosen  that  all  the  points 
are  thrown  into  one  quadrant.  (The  N.  and  S.  line  should  usually  be  parallel  to  the  vertical  edges 
of  the  map,  north  up.)  The  maximum  abscissa  and  the  maximum  ordinate  will  be  (to  scale)  the 
minimum  lengths  of  the  border  lines.  The  border  lines  should  be  somewhat  longer  than  abso- 
lutely necessary,  that  they  may  not  seem  to  crowd  the  interior  lines  of  the  drawing.  The  lengths 
of  the  cutting  lines  (49)  are  now  determined  by  adding  to  the  border  lengths  the  widths  of  the 
margins  (101)  desired.  Usually  somewhat  more  paper  is  cut  than  is  required,  the  extra  part  being 
taken  at  one  side  of  the  sheet  for  use  in  testing  the  pen  after  each  filling  or  setting.  Second 
Method. — Roughly  plot  the  limiting  points  of  the  survey  on  one  or  more  sheets  of  detail-  or  cross- 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


55 

section-paper.  If  two  or  more  sheets  are  required,  they  are  overlapped  to  serve  as  a continuous 
sheet.  Locate  the  border  lines,  leaving  sufficient  room  for  the  map  and  title.  Locate  the  cutting 
lines,  giving  the  margins  the  desired  widths.  The  drawing-paper  for  the  finished  map  is  cut  to 
the  dimensions  of  this  rough  plot.  Use  the  first  draft  as  a model  in  laying  out  the  first  lines 
on  the  accurate  map.  Third  Method. — Plot  the  principal  points  of  the  survey  accurately  on  one 
or  more  sheets  of  detail-  or  drawing-paper.  Find  the  dimensions  for  the  finished  map  and  cut 
the  paper  for  it,  as  in  the  second  method.  Place  the  first  draft  on  this  paper  so  that  the  map 
will  lie  symmetrically  on  the  space  to  be  bounded  by  the  border  lines.  Prick  the  located  points 
through  with  a fine  needle-point,  being  careful  to  hold  the  needle  perpendicular  to  the  paper  and 
to  make  only  minute  holes  in  the  under  sheet. 

97.  To  Stretch  the  Paper. — For  drawings  to  which  water-color  is  to  be  applied,  it  is 
necessary  to  stretch  the  paper.  The  advantages  of  having  a perfectly  flat  surface  to  work  on  will 
often  make  it  pay  to  stretch  the  paper  for  an  accurate  pencil  or  ink  drawing.  A sheet  of  draw- 
ing-paper is  stretched  in  the  following  manner,  using  a clean  drawing-board,  clean  hands,  clean 
sponge  and  glass,  clear  water,  fresh  blotters,  and  liquid  glue  or  strong  mucilage : 

(1)  Cut  the  paper  to  allow  a margin  of  (or  more,  according  to  the  size  of  the  sheet) 
outside  the  cutting  line  (49). 

(2)  Turn  up  this  outer  margin  on  the  four  sides,  making  a shallow  tray  of  the  paper. 

(3)  Turn  this  tray  bottom  up,  on  the  horizontal  drawing-board. 

(4)  Wet  the  bottom  (not  the  sides)  of  the  tray,  by  gently  tapping  with  the  saturated  sponge. 
As  soon  as  the  paper  begins  to  sag  in  the  center,  squeeze  the  water  from  the  sponge  as  it  is 
passed  above  the  higher  parts  of  the  paper.  (The  water  should  not  touch  the  turned  up  margins 
nor  get  on  the  drawing-board.) 


56 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


(5)  As  soon  as  the  paper  (except  the  turned-up  margins)  is  perfectly  limp,  take  up  the 
water  with  the  sponge,  without  rubbing  the  latter  on  the  paper. 

(6)  Coat  the  dry  margins  with  the  mucilage. 

(7)  Taking  the  paper  by  the  two  far  corners,  lift  it  from  the  board  and  lay  it,  right  side 
up,  in  its  proper  position  on  the  board. 

(8)  With  the  finger  tips,  press  one  long  margin  on  the  board,  rubbing  outward  from 
the  margin  center.  Treat  the  other  margins  (beginning  with  that  opposite  the  first)  in  the 
same  way. 

(9)  Go  around  the  sheet  repeatedly,  repressing  the  margins  by  drawing  the  finger  tips 
away  from  the  center  of  the  sheet. 

It  is  advantageous  to  have  a helper,  so  that  opposite  margins  can  be  pressed  down  and 
drawn  out  at  the  same  time.  Otherwise  it  is  a good  plan  to  drive  thumb-tacks  into  the  margin 
first  pressed  down.  The  mucilage  must  set  firmly  before  the  sheet  dries.  Keep  the  board  in  a hori- 
zontal position,  away  from  the  sun  and  artificial  heat.  Usually  the  paper  should  not  be  drawn 
on  till  the  following  day.  Notice  that  in  the  above  operations  no  water  is  applied  directly  to 
the  working  surface  of  the  paper. 

§ 14.  Linear  Drawing  Applied  to  Drafting. 

98.  To  Pencil  a Drawing. — The  precision  with  which  points  and  lines  are  marked 
should  depend  altogether  on  the  required  accuracy  of  the  finished  drawing.  All  lines  should  be 
drawn  fine  (with  slight  pressure)  and  full  till  their  limits  are  determined,  when  they  may  be 
redrawn  heavier,  and  full  or  broken  as  desired.  It  will  not  usually  be  necessary  to  show  lines 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


57 


broken  till  they  are  inked  or  traced.  Lines  which  are  to  be  traced  should  be  redrawn  with  a 
sharp  chisel-point  (17)  with  some  pressure,  that  they  may  show  well  through  the  cloth.  For  a draw- 
ing on  which  the  dimensions  are  to  be  inked  or  traced,  write  in  each  dimension  lightly  but  clearly 
as  it  is  laid  off.  Also  write  those  descriptive  words  which  are  to  appear  on  the  final  work  at 
the  time  of  drawing  the  parts  to  which  they  belong.  After  all  the  lines  are  drawn,  print 
the  dimensions,  descriptions,  and  title  (§  15). 

The  order  of  penciling  lines  and  laying  off  distances  on  a drawing  varies  with  the  char- 
acter of  the  object  to  be  represented.  There  is  usually  on  an  object  at  least  one  horizontal  to 
which  we  naturally  refer  other  lines  of  the  object : e.  g.,  the  bottom  or  base  line  of  a machine,  a 
horizontal  axis  of  symmetry  in  some  part  of  a machine,  the  floor  line  of  a building,  high-water 
lines  on  river  and  harbor  structures,  the  grade  line  on  a bridge  for  highway  or  railroad,  etc. 
Also,  there  is  commonly  on  an  object  one  or  more  vertical  lines  with  respect  to  which  we  are 
accustomed  to  locate  other  lines,  e.  g.,  a vertical  axis  of  symmetry  of  a machine  part,  trestle  bent, 
bridge  pier,  or  truss  cross-section,  vertical  lines  of  walls,  etc.  If  the  object  has  such  a reference 
line,  we  place  this  line  on  the  paper  in  such  a position  that  the  completed  drawing  will  occupy 
its  proper  position  within  the  border  line.  If  there  are  two  or  more  horizontal  or  vertical  refer- 
ence lines,  one  is  drawn  first  and  the  others  are  located  on  the  paper  with  respect  to  this.  In 
locating  a point  when  there  are  two  or  more  parallel  reference  lines,  that  one  will  be  used 
which  gives  the  least  work. 

By  way  of  illustrating  the  foregoing,  the  steps  taken  in  making  the  drawing  of  an  apron-stud, 
Fig.  42,  are  here  given:  (1)  Draw  an  indefinite  horizontal  line  to  represent  the  long  axis  of  the 
stud.  (2)  Knowing  all  the  dimensions  shown  in  the  figure,  begin  at  a chosen  point  toward  the 


58 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


left  end  of  the  drawn  line  and  lay  off  consecutively  (to  scale)  to  the  right  the  distances  1", 
Y i 1|  \ I4  ) and  1",  making  a fine  dot  on  the  axis  at  the  right  extremity  of  each  distance. 
(3)  Draw  an  indefinite  fine  line  perpendicular  to  the  axis  at  each  marked  point.  (These  lines  are 
drawn  one  after  another,  beginning  at  the  left-hand  point,  with  the  triangle  sliding  along  the  T 
blade  while  the  head  is  in  full  contact  with  the  left  edge  of  the  board.)  (4)  On  the  first  verti- 
cal line  lay  off  (to  scale),  upward  from  the  axis,  ¥ (one-half  the  diameter  of  the  screw  at  the 
left  end  of  the  stud) ; lay  off  on  each  vertical,  in  turn,  the  corresponding  half  diameter ; with 
the  divider,  lay  off  each  half  diameter  below  the  axis.  (5)  Draw  horizontal  lines  through  the 
outer  ends  of  the  half  diameters  to  form  with  the  vertical  lines  the  outlines  of  the  stud.  (6)  The 
details  of  the  screw  threads  are  constructed  next.  Lines  which  have  been  located  by  meas- 
urements made  from  and  along  the  first  line  drawn,  serve  in  turn  as  reference  lines  for  groups 
of  details.  (7)  If  the  drawing  is  to  be  traced,  the  outlines  are  redrawn  with  a sharp  chisel- 
point.  (8)  The  dimension  lines  (102)  are  drawn  where  they  will  least  interfere  with  the  clear- 
ness of  the  outlines  and  where  there  is  the  least  danger  of  misunderstanding  to  what  they 
refer.  (9)  The  guide  lines  are  drawn  for  printing  the  dimension  figures,  descriptive  words,  and 
one-line  title,  after  which  the  printing  is  done  with  pencil  (§  15). 

Some  of  the  details  of  the  above  construction  may  be  varied,  e.  g.,  the  distances  may  be 
laid  off  from  the  right  instead  of  the  left,  or  from  any  point  chosen,  to  the  right  and  left ; the 
two  ends  of  a diameter  may  be  located  at  one  placing  of  the  scale  (this  is  the  best  method  when 
the  scale  is  divided  full  length),  or  each  half  diameter  may  be  taken  from  the  scale  with  the 
divider  and  laid  off  upward,  and  then  downward  by  swinging  the  upper  divider  point  about 
the  lower,  which  rests  on  the  axis. 

For  a map,  we  first  draw  a pair  of  rectangular  axes,  a north-and-south  line,  a base  line,  or 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


59 


one  of  the  longest  straight  lines  of  the  survey,  according  to  the  method  of  making  the  survey. 
The  student  should  consult  some  work  on  topographical  drawing*  for  the  details  of  map  work. 

99.  To  Ink  a Drawing. — It  is  bad  practice  to  begin  to  ink  a drawing  before  the  pencil 

work  has  been  completed.  A drawing  should  be  so  inked  that  the  outlines  of  the  object  repre- 
sented become  known  at  the  first  glance,  while  the  projection  and  dimension  lines  (102)  and 

other  details  become  clear  only  on  closer  inspection.  To  this  end  the  lines  of  a drawing  are 

made  heavy  and  light,  full  and  broken.  Three  representative  sets  of  conventional  lines  are  given 
in  Fig.  43. 

Lines  should  neither  run  over  nor  fall  short  of  their  limiting  points.  Dashes  of  broken 
lines  should  not  cross  full  lines.  The  segments  of  broken  lines  should  be  made  as  uniform  in 
length  and  spacing  as  is  possible  by  eye.  Straight  lines  and  curves  should  be  smoothly  joined. 
Irregular  curves,  too  sharp  for  the  French  curve,  are  put  in  free-hand  with  the  lettering-pen. 

In  drawing  hidden  outlines,  which  are  near  together  and  parallel,  make  the  segments  of 
the  lines  break  joints,  as  shown  in  Fig.  43. 

A heavy  line  may  be  drawn  with  one  stroke  of  the  ruling-pen  set  wide,  as  already  indi- 
cated (56),  but  for  outline  shading  the  following  method  is  often  used:  First  rule,  say,  a horizontal 
fine  line.  Rule  a second  line  (with  the  pen  set  as  before  or  a little  wider)  below  and  parallel  to 
the  first.  The  second  line  is  ruled  to  just  touch  the  first  or  to  leave  a white  space  between,  de- 
pending on  the  required  width  of  the  finished  line.  The  white  space  if  narrow  is  filled  by  a 
third  stroke  of  the  pen,  which  is  slanted  to  reach  the  white  space  without  moving  the  guide 


*One  of  the  standard  works  is  “Topographical  Drawing  and  Sketching,”  by  Lieut.  H.  A.  Reed  (John 
Wiley  & Sons,  N.  Y.,  $5). 


60 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


from  its  second  position.  If  the  white  space  is  wide  it  can  be  filled  by  repeated  rulings  with  the 
ruling-pen,  or  with  ink  applied  with  a lettering-pen  or  water-color  brush. 

To  shade  a circle:  First  draw  a fine  line  circumference  (Fig.  47).  With  the  same  radius 
and  pen  setting,  draw  the  lower  right  half  of  a circumference  from  a center  located  to  the  right  of 
and  below  the  first  center  on  a 45°  line  through  the  latter.  The  distance  between  centers  is  reg- 
ulated by  the  desired  weight  of  shade  at  the  middle  of  the  right  lower  quadrant.  If  there  is  a 
white  space  left  between  the  two  arcs  it  is  filled  by  a third  arc  drawn  from  a third  center  midway 
between  the  first  two,  or  with  a lettering-pen  or  a brush. 

The  order  of  inking  the  lines  of  a machine  or  structural  drawing  with  the  least  chance  of 
mistakes  is  as  follows:  A.  Outlines. — (1)  Curves  (a  circle  is  most  conveniently  shaded  as  soon  as 
drawn,  while  the  compass  is  open  to  the  radius)  ; (2)  horizontal  lines  (fine),  beginning  at  the  top  ; 
(3)  vertical  lines  (fine),  beginning  at  the  left  side  of  the  drawing ; (4)  sets  of  parallel  oblique  lines 
(fine);  (5)  odd  lines  (fine).  B.  Projection  and  dimension  lines. — These  are  drawn  in  the  order 
(2),  (3),  etc.,  given  above.  C.  Shading. — The  right-hand  and  lower  outlines  of  projecting  parts 
are  shaded  (i.  e.,  made  heavier)  as  indicated  above.  The  shaded  line  should  usually  be  little,  if 
any,  more  than  twice  as  wide  as  the  fine  line.  D.  Lettering. — Ink  the  figures  and  letters. 

Time  may  be  saved,  at  the  risk  of  mistakes,  by  setting  the  pen  wide  to  rule  each  shaded 
line  at  one  stroke.  In  this  case  the  fine  horizontal  and  vertical  lines  are  drawn  first,  and  the 
heavy  lines  afterward  drawn  in  the  same  order.  The  extra  width  of  each  heavy  line  thus 
drawn  should  lie  without  the  true  outline  of  the  part,  i.  e.,  the  shading  should  not  encroach  on 
the  object  or  part. 

100.  To  Make  a Tracing. — Cut  the  cloth  extra  large,  so  as  to  have  a strip  outside 
the  cutting  line  (49)  for  use  in  trying  the  pen  after  each  interval  in  the  ruling  of  lines.  Tack 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


61 


the  cloth  to  the  board,  two  diagonally  opposite  corners  first,  so  that  it  lies  smooth  over 
the  drawing  to  be  traced.  If  the  glossy  side  is  turned  up  (16)  the  gloss  is  removed  with 
pumice  powder  (29).  While  tracing,  occasional  grease  patches  may  be  discovered  by  the  ink’s 
not  taking  hold  of  the  cloth  or  by  the  sudden  unloading  of  the  pen.  This  oil  is  easily  re- 
moved by  the  application  of  a little  pumice  powder.  The  character  of  lines  and  the  order  of 
making  them  are  given  in  99.  Ink  will  enter  a break  in  the  surface  of  the  tracing-cloth  and  fol- 
low along  the  threads.  It  is  therefore  important  that  erasures  be  made  with  pumice  powder 
instead  of  steel,  and  that  circles  be  drawn  without  making  holes  at  their  centers.  When  ink 
enters  the  interior  of  the  cloth  by  way  of  natural  defects  in  the  surface,  the  only  remedy  is 
to  take  a new  piece.  To  make  good  lines,  free  from  tails  and  blots  at  the  ends,  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  the  cloth  flat  on  the  board  in  the  vicinity  of  the  working  pen  nibs.  To  make  uniform 
lines,  the  ruling-pen  must  be  moved  at  uniform  speed. 

101.  Margins;  Border  Line. — The  widths  of  the  margins  (50)  for  students’  drawings  are 
usually  prescribed  by  the  instructor.  For  drawings' which  are  to  be  preserved  in  quantities,  e.  g., 
blue-prints  in  machine-shops,  the  margin  is  often  as  narrow  as  For  display  drawings  made 
on  drawing-paper  the  width  of  margin  ranges  from  1"  to  2"  for  a drawing  2'  x 3',  to  4"  to  6"  for 
a drawing  5'  x 7'.  It  is  best  to  make  provision  for  an  ample  margin  when  cutting  the  paper, 
as  it  is  convenient  to  have  a narrow  strip  at  one  side  of  the  drawing,  on  the  outside  of  the  cut- 
ting line,  on  which  to  try  the  pen  after  each  filling. 

The  border  line  for  students’  and  working  drawings  may  be  a single  line  no  heavier  than 
can  be  drawn  conveniently  with  one  ruling.  For  large-scale  maps  larger  than  2'  x 3'  and  for 
all  carefully  drawn  small-scale  maps  the  border  line  may  consist  of  an  outer  heavy  line  and  an 
inner  fine  line,  the  width  of  the  former  being  equal  to  the  space  between  the  two.  The  distance 


62 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


from  the  fine  line  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  heavy  line  is  taken  as  one  one-hundredth  of  the 
length  of  the  shorter  border  line  of  the  map,  as  shown  in  Fig.  49.  In  all  cases  make  the  cor- 
ners plain,  as  shown. 

102.  Conventions. — A meridian  arrow  is  drawn  not  to  ornament  the  map  but  to  show 
the  direction  of  the  meridian  (true  or  magnetic)  with  respect  to  the  plotted  lines.  A single 
straight  fine  line  answers  this  purpose.  The  head  and  tail  of  an  arrow  are  put  on  the  line  to 
make  it  a little  more  conspicuous  for  easy  finding.  If  the  magnetic  meridian,  only,  is  known,  a 
single  arrow  gives  its  direction;  in  which  case  “Mag.  N.”  is  printed  above  the  head,  or  “Mag- 
netic Meridian”  along  the  shaft  of  the  arrow.  When  the  true  meridian  is  known  the  magnetic 
meridian  is  usually  also  known,  and  their  directions  are  indicated  by  a double  arrow,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  50.  The  half  head  and  half  tail  are  used  on  the  line  of  the  magnetic  meridian.  The  angle 
between  the  two  meridians,  the  “declination  of  the  needle,”  is  printed  as  shown.  The  length  of 
the  arrow  should  be  equal  to  that  of  the  hypothenuse  of  that  triangle  which  is  of  the  most  con- 
venient size  for  drawing  the  longer  lines  of  the  map.  The  arrow  is  placed  on  the  largest  clear 
space  not  set  off  for  the  title.  In  case  of  lack  of  clear  space,  the  arrow  is  placed  on  the 
drawing  proper,  in  such  a position  that  it  will  neither  cover  nor  confuse  important  details. 

Drawn  Scale. — Fig.  48  shows  a scale  of  simple  design,  well  suited  to  ordinary  maps 
and  to  working  drawings. 

Metal  Sections. — In  Fig.  44  are  shown  conventional  section  linings  for  cast  iron,  steel, 
wrought  iron,  and  brass.* 

* Section  linings  for  other  metals  are  given  in  books  on  Machine  Drawing.  In  Rheinhardt’s  ‘‘Technic  of 
Mechanical  Drafting”  will  be  found  about  seventy  conventions,  covering  the  various  materials  dealt  with  in  Civil 
and  Mechanical  Engineering. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


63 


A dimension  line  (Figs.  38,  42,  43)  terminates  in  arrow-heads  whose  points  touch  the  lines 
which  limit  it.  A break  is  left  in  the  middle  of  the  dimension  line  for  the  insertion  of 
the  dimension  figures.  The  arrow-heads  should  be  uniform  in  size  and  shape.  In  case  there 
is  not  enough  room  for  the  arrow-heads  placed  in  the  usual  way,  they  are  reversed  and  placed 
outside  the  limiting  lines.  For  full  dimension  lines,  see  “Projection  lines”  below. 

Projection  lines  (called  also  reference  lines)  are  shown  dotted  in  Fig.  42.  In  Fig.  43,  under 
“ Style  C,”  the  projection  and  dimension  lines  are  shown  full.  These  are  more  quickly  drawn 
than  broken  lines,  and  offer  fewer  chances  for  mistakes  in  reading  a drawing  where  projection 
or  dimension  lines  are  crowded.  There  is  no  danger  of  confusing  the  full  dimension  and  pro- 
jection lines  with  the  outlines  of  the  drawing  when  the  former  are  made  very  fine  and  the  latter 
are  made  heavy  (for  shaded  outlines)  and  medium  (for  unshaded  outlines),  as  shown. 

§ 15.  Lettering  Applied  to  Drafting. 

103.  Choice  of  Styles. — The  Vertical  and  Inclined  styles  (Figs.  30-34)  are  each  suit- 
able for  all  lettering  on  a working  drawing  (Fig.  38)  ; but  it  is  a good  plan  to  use  both  styles  on 
the  same  drawing : the  Inclined  for  dimension  figures  and  descriptive  lettering,  and  the  Vertical 
for  titles,  sub-titles,  and  reference  characters  (Fig.  42).  The  letters  may  be  compressed  to  save 
space,  or  extended  to  give  greater  prominence  (Figs.  35,  42).  Roman  letters  should  be  used  on 
all  drawings  for  which  the  above  styles  are  not  appropriate. 

104.  Size  and  Position  of  Letters  and  Figures. — The  height  of  the  descriptive  letters 
and  dimension  figures  throughout  a drawing  should  be  uniform  and  not  less  than  3 mm.  (^")  for 
capitals. 


64 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING. 


A dimension  number  is  printed  in  the  direction  of  its  dimension  line,  and  in  the  space  left 
in  this  line  for  this  purpose.  When  a dimension  number  is  too  large  for  the  space  which  it 
would  naturally  occupy,  it  is  placed  in  the  nearest  sufficiently  large  blank  space  and  connected 
with  its  dimension  line  by  a dotted  line  which  ends  in  an  arrow-head  or  heavy  period  (Figs. 
38,  42,  44).  Numbers  on  vertical  lines  are  printed  so  as  to  be  read  from  the  right-hand  edge 
of  the  sheet. 

Descriptive  words  are  printed  along  the  part  to  which  they  belong,  if  possible ; otherwise  in 
the  nearest  blank  space  of  sufficient  size,  and  connected  to  the  part  by  a dotted  line  which  ter- 
minates in  an  arrow-head  at  the  part.  When  descriptive  words  are  printed  along  vertical  lines, 
they  are  so  placed  as  to  be  read  from  the  right-hand  edge  of  the  sheet. 

Unless  there  is  reason  for  giving  lines  of  letters  and  figures  some  slope,  they  are  made 
horizontal. 

105.  To  Make  the  Letters  and  Figures. — Whether  the  pencil  drawing  is  to  be  inked 
or  traced,  the  beginner  should  carefully  draw  the  letters  and  figures  in  pencil  on  the  original 
drawing,  using  guide  lines  (Nos.  1,  3,  6,  8 of  Fig.  34).  For  drawing  the  guide  lines,  make  four 
marks,  properly  spaced,  on  the  edge  of  a triangle.  Place  the  marked  edge  in  such  a position 
on  the  drawing  that  lines  drawn  perpendicular  to  this  edge  through  the  marks  will  be  correctly 
located  to  serve  as  guide  lines  for  a line  of  letters  or  figures.  Another  and  quicker  method  is 
to  cut  two  parallel  rectangular  slots  in  a visiting  card,  piece  of  heavy  drawing-paper  or  thin 
sheet-metal,  in  such  a way  that  the  upper  and  lower  edges  of  the  two  slots  will  serve  as  straight- 
edges along  which  to  draw  correctly  spaced  guide  lines. 

106.  The  Title  of  a Drawing. — A title  for  a drawing  should  be  designed  by  one  who 
appreciates  what  will  be  required  of  the  drawing  by  those  who  are  to  use  it.  The  common  rule 
is  to  embody  in  the  title  the  name  of  the  object  and  its  location,  the  persons  for  and  by  whom 


INTRODUCTION  TO  DRAFTING. 


65 


the  object  is  constructed,  the  scale  of  the  drawing,  and  the  date.  A drawing  may,  however,  re- 
quire a title  as  simple  as  that  given  in  Fig.  37,  or  as  complex  as  the  following:  “Survey  of  the 
Northern  and  Northwestern  Lakes  ||  Made  in  obedience  to  acts  of  Congress  ||  and  orders  from 
the  ||  Headquarters  of  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  War  Department.  ||  Chart  of  the  Northern  and 
Northwestern  Lakes  ||  Compiled  from  the  data  ||  of  the  ||  U.  S.  Lake  Survey.  ||  Scale  1:18,000,000. 
||  Published  in  1879.  ||  Compiled  and  drawn  by  Edward  Moliter.  ||  Scale  of  Statute  Miles.” 

The  height  of  the  largest  letters  in  a title  is  usually  one-fiftieth  of  the  length  of  the  shorter 
border  of  the  drawing.  The  vertical  spacing  of  the  lines  of  letters  of  a title  is  made  less  than 
indicated  in  Fig.  36  whenever  the  space  available  for  the  title  is  restricted. 

The  title  is  placed  on  both  ends  of  drawings  which  are  long  and  narrow,  e.  g.,  profiles  and 
route  maps.  On  drawings  which  are  to  be  filed  in  drawers,  the  title  is  usually  placed  in  the 
right  lower  corner.  On  miscellaneous  drawings  the  title  is  placed  on  the  largest  blank  space 
within  the  border. 

107.  Lettering  on  Tracing-cloth. — In  tracing,  it  will,  at  first,  be  necessary  to  trace  the 
guide  lines  with  pencil  before  inking  the  letters  and  figures.  Special  effort  is  required  to  make 
all  parts  of  each  character  absolutely  black  and  distinct.  Beginners  are  apt  to  produce,  on  trac- 
ing-cloth, lettering-pen  strokes  which  are  faint  at  one  or  both  ends.  This  may  be  because  the 
strokes  are  made  with  irregular  pen  pressure,  or  because  not  enough  time  is  given  the  ink  to 
take  hold  of  the  cloth.  The  tracing-cloth  should  be  kept  pressed  firmly  against  the  board  where 
the  pen  is  working,  to  prevent  the  tails  and  blots  which  are  apt  to  be  formed  on  each  stroke  by 
the  cloth’s  rising  and  following  the  pen  as  the  latter  is  lifted  at  the  end  of  a stroke. 

After  a certain  amount  of  practice  in  lettering,  the  formal  penciling  of  letters  may  be 
omitted  on  the  original  and  inked  properly  on  the  tracing  by  sliding  a slip  of  paper,  marked 
with  lettering  guide  lines,  underneath  the  cloth  to  the  proper  position. 


. 

' 


J.  C.  L.  Fish 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING 


Figs.  1-16  Sheet 


J.  C.  L.  Fish 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING 


Figs.  17-25  Sheet  II 


Whik  drawing  o circle,  the  needle 
should  be  kept,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
perpendicular  to  die  plane  ok  the  paper, 
on  which  it  rests  !$%■  OTHERWISE  a 
LARGE  HOLE  is  GOUGED  IN  the  PAPER 
at  the  circle  center,  and  the 
•r  is  lost. 


\ 


black  and^ 

//-“ 

f /?- ‘ 

li  Fiftlg 

* The  NEEDLE  MARK,  at  the  center  \ 
of a set  of  concentric  circles,  should  * 

1 be  so  fine  as  to  be  readily  found 
\ only  when  enclosed  in  a sma/i  ^ 

\ circle  (which  is  drawn  free-  * § 

\ hand  with  pencil  J.  / V 

/ 


- portion  of  curve  retraced 
ith  soft  pencil 
or  ruling-pen, 
using  Irregular 
Curve  as  a guide 


To  detach  Pencil-leg:  loosen  damp- 
ing screw  of  split  socket  of  compass 
leg,  and  pull  on  pencil  leg. 

To  use  Lengthening-bar:  inset 
shank  in  compass  leg  socket; 
insert  shank  of  pencil  or  pen 
leg  in  socket  of  bar ; tighten 
both  damping  screws. 


Fig.  21 


Fig.  19 


Fig.  20 


Divider 

Fig.23 


Nib  of  Ruling-Pen 

Showing  Corrosion  which 
results  from  care/ess  cleaning 
of  the  Blades. 

Always  wipe  the  Nibs,  inside 
and  out,  DRY  and  BRIGHT  after 
using  the  pen. 


J.  C.  L.  Fish 


LINEAR  DRAWING  AND  LETTERING 


Figs.  42-50  Sheet  IV 


8 Threads 


| 

~^T~ 

- - -H\j — 

®§-r 

1 

i 

12  Threads 

Fio  47 


per  Inch  Machinery  Steel 

Apron  Stud 


per/nch 


Fig  42 
Fig  43 

Dimension  Line 
Projection  Line 
Center  Line 
Outlines, Hidden  _ 
Outline,  Plain 
Outline,  Shaded  . 


Fig  48 


length  of  shorter  Border) 

Fig  49 


Fig.  44 

Cast  Iron  Steel 


For  a Map  of 
which  the  Scale 

Use  thaf  Scale 

When  using  Scale 

The  Figures 

1.2. 3, etc,  ore 

Fora 
Map  to 
the  5 c ale 

//  I0i  too;  iOOOi 

10  equal  path 

10  equal  parts 

Ip; 3‘ etc  . 

/“=/' 

2,  20,  200.  2000,.. 

20  » >\ 

10,  20,30, 

1=10' 

3,  3Q  300,  3000,. 

30  ” •» 

too,  200, 300, 

1=100' 

4,  40,  400,  4000,.. 

40  » » 

etc.  etc. 

5,  50,500,  5000,.. 

50  •-  w 

20  ■>  - 

t000;  ZOOO:  etc. 

1=2006 

6,  bO.  bOO,  6000.. 

60  ’>  » 

etc.  etc. 

Fig.  45 


Wr 

r 

l§p 

4m 

f 

rrW/, 

Brass 

Wrought  Iron 

Tb 

IP 

'// /'/</' 

i2 ' 

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 If  1 1 1 1 1 1 1 

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 | 

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 | 

" 1 1 j 1 1 " 1 1 1 1 1 n 

0 

1 , 2 

ENGINEERS  SCALE 

3 

4 

5 • ( 

Fig  46 


tent  number  at  the  middle  of  the  scale  gives  the  dim 

_3*  j'5 ' This  distance  is  read  “ i f00T“  On  a drawing  of  which  the  scale  is  i"-/’  CD=5,'  BD=8‘,  PE -2','  AF=I3‘  9j' 

8 4k  This  distance  is  read  “1  /NCH“  The  tower  figures  have  to  dp  with  the  unit  1=2.)  divided  to  twelfths  at  the  right  end  ofsca/e. 


ARCHITECT'S  SCALE 


I 


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